Long Nights
by gosakurago
Summary: The Team finally gets the chance to meet Batgirl and learn more about both her and Robin. Just one catch: they have to search all of Gotham for her first, and without superpowers or weapons. And the BatKids don't plan on making it easy for them either... /Set in between YJ and YJ Invasion
1. The Challenge

Hi everyone! I know I need to update my other fanfic, but I got a bit stuck and this is what came out. This is placed after season 1. Also, expect a few "guest" appearances in future chapters. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to any of this. The fanfic is mine, but everything else belongs to DC Comics.

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"What a long night," groaned Robin, stretching out his aching arms as he followed the rest of the Team through the zeta-tube and into the Cave's main hall. "So many Gotham villains. What was with that? We were half way across the world from my city!"

"Then I'm gonna go ahead and blame you for the past five hours of non-stop villainy we just had to deal with," responded an unusually sluggish Kid Flash, his words slurring as he talked. Robin already knew it, but this made it pretty clear that his best friend really wasn't used to these all-nighter missions. Wally barely made it into the TV room before falling back into the couch. "Seriously, it was like a 'Super Baddie Free-For-All' out there."

"Wait, they were all from Gotham?" Artemis asked a bit incredulously, her exhaustion pretty apparent as she kicked off her boots and collapsed onto the couch next to their resident speedster. "I mean, I knew Gotham had a lot of villains and that they were some of the most hard-core in the world, but seriously? You've been going through _that_ for the past four years?

Robin slumped to the ground and stretched out on the floor in front of them. "Closer to five, actually, but yeah. That's how I knew so many of their weak points."

Kaldur limped his way over to the kitchen sink and splashed the cold water onto his face repeatedly. A mission in Cairo in broad daylight could not have been easy on the gills, even if it _was_ still winter. "It's a good thing you did, because otherwise, that would have been a… very _difficult_ situation," the Atlantian added as he wiped his face dry with a towel. He removed two glasses from the cabinet and filled them with ice water, then handed one of them over to his other heat-sensitive teammate as she flew in. M'gann happily accepted the drink and flew over to the other couch where her boyfriend had flopped down. Rocket followed in after the green girl and stole a long sip of Kaldur's water before leaping over the back of the couch and landing on the cushion next to Artemis with a soft plop.

Zatanna knelt to the ground beside Robin, giving him a small smile before joking, "I felt a bit bad though. There were times where we got in the way more than helped."

The slight touch of Zatanna leg against his set loose a cage of butterflies in the Boy Wonder's stomach. The good kind though, so he flashed her his trademark smirk and tried to subtly move in a little closer. "Nah, you guys did fine. That was kinda my bad," Robin replied lazily, pulling a pillow out from under Wally's legs and placing it over his face to cover his eyes, "I'm so used to working with Batgirl as my partner that I kept forgetting that you guys don't know those villains as well as we do."

An eerie silence swept across the room. Curious and just as equally confused, Robin lifted the pillow from his face to find all eyes trained on him. "What?" he asked blankly, totally lost on their sudden hush.

"Well, it's just… you never really mention Batgirl much," M'gann finally offered up.

"Yeah, I mean, I'd always heard stories about the two of you fighting crime together," Artemis added, "But since you've never talked about her, we had kinda just assumed that you two actually didn't interact much and she was just some solo vigilante using Batman's name. But… I guess that wasn't right then?"

_Nice move, Grayson._ Robin desperately looked around to his best friend for help, only to find him deliberately avoiding eye-contact by staring up at the ceiling, a small bead of nervous sweat forming on his jaw. _Thanks, dude. Real subtle._ Dick turned back around to face the group, but found it impossible to focus on anything but Zatanna. A mix of emotions swirled in her eyes, as if she was curious and yet a little hesitant to hear about the other part of his life. He couldn't blame her, but he'd rather hesitate for all eternity than try to explain _this _part of his life. He'd have to explain eventually, and it wasn't like he had anything to hide, really, but _now_ definitely wasn't the right time. He and Zatanna had only just started dating, and something as intimate as his partnership and friendship with Barbara Gordon could easily create dangerous misunderstandings and unnecessary tension between them. And extra tension was the _last_ thing the magician needed after what happened to her dad. But looking at Zatanna's unwavering gaze and the curious looks of his other teammates (except Wally, who still seemed totally engrossed by the paint of the ceiling), Dick knew he would have to divulge at least a part of this story. A _very, very, very_ small part.

He took a deep breath, hoping his apprehension wasn't completely obvious, and said with a dismissive shrug of his lean shoulders, "_Obviously_ I know Batgirl. After all, we have the same mentor. I just…" Robin paused as he desperately clawed through the endless torrents of his frantic mind in search of the most appropriate and least risky lie. "I mean, it's just never come up in a conversation before." _Good! That's good. It's technically not a lie._

But the Team seemed to have noticed his little hesitation and just stared back at him with doubting eyes. "I guess that's true, but…"

"Well, it's come up now, soooo… can we meet her?" Zatanna asked, her eyes glowing with new-found excitement.

If Robin had followed Aqualad's lead and gotten himself some water before crashing to the floor, he probably would've done a spit take just now. "W-what? Why?" he managed to stutter out.

"You're joking right?" Rocket interjected disbelievingly.

"Of course we'd want to meet her! Even on Mars, I heard stories of you guys when you were sidekicks, and that includes Batgirl."

"See! She's not just internationally famous, she's _galactically _famous!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not a real word, Raquel," Kaldur chuckled through a sip of ice water.

"That's because there are no other words worthy enough to describe her," Artemis added, half joking, half serious.

"Thank you! At least someone gets it."

M'gann turned to her boyfriend, who had yet to say a word since they'd returned, "What do you think, Connor?"

Superboy just gave them a bored look and replied, "To be honest, I didn't even know there was a Batgirl, so I don't really care either way."

"Then it's settled!" Raquel announced out loud, "It's one versus… one, two, three, Artemis makes four, Superboy makes five, we'll just say Kaldur makes six, and Wally makes se—wait, KF hasn't even spoken yet."

The Team all turned their attention to the scarlet haired hero.

"Wally, why are you staring the ceiling as intently as Superboy watching TV static?"

"Because, it's… fun… yeah, fun…"

Artemis just watched her boyfriend inquisitively. "I'm actually a bit shocked that you aren't jumping on this chance to meet such a legendary heroine like Batgirl. I mean, I know we're dating, but that's sure never stopped you from flirting with a girl before."

"Unless," M'gann's eyes widened slightly as the pieces of the puzzle started to click into place, "You've already met her!"

That got the speedster's attention. He bolted straight up in his seat and swung his head around to stare at the Martian in disbelief. "Hey! No mind reading!"

"I promise you, that time, I just guessed."

Wally's face went blank, and he facepalmed himself for his stupidity.

"What! Seriously?" Rocket exclaimed, "That's _so_ not fair! I've always wanted to meet Batgirl!"

"Yeah, same here. She was one of my inspirations to become a superhero," Artemis agreed eagerly before turning to punch her boyfriend in the arm, "Wally, why didn't you ever tell me that you met her!"

"Ow! Becau—_ow!_ Quit punching m—OW! _BECAUSE ROBIN TOLD ME NOT TO! _THERE! NOW STOP HITTING ME!"

And all eyes swung back around to pry answers out of the Boy Wonder, who finally realized that he had just lost his last chance to sneak away unnoticed. Robin bit his lip apprehensively as a half-dozen set of eyes pried him for answers. _So much for secrecy_. "Look, you guys," he began, shifting his weight so that he was sitting up straight and turned around to face all of them. He took a minute to evaluate his situation. Thanks to all that training he'd done with Batman, Robin had an incredible poker face, which he desperately needed right now. As cool and calm as he appeared to his friends at that moment, on the inside he was sweating buckets, panicking as he tried to devise an escape plan. He was running out of options; he hated flat-out lying to his friends, but this wasn't a conversation that he wanted to have yet. With a weary sigh, all he could think to say was, "It's not really that big a deal, is it?"

"Well, it isn't life or death or anything, but why are you trying so hard not to talk about her?" Raquel told him through gritted teeth, obviously agitated, "It's more than just a bit suspicious."

Wally gave a small awkward laugh. "Boy, am I tired!" he interjected nervously as he moved to stand up, getting ready to make a high-speed break for it, "I'm off to bed then. 'Night!"

"Not so fast, baywatch!" Artemis snapped as she grabbed the speedster by the back of his shirt and pulled him back down, "You definitely aren't off the hook yet since you obviously know what he's hiding and _why_ he's hiding it!"

"He's not hiding anything, you guys," Wally tried, but Artemis and Raquel clearly didn't believe him.

Robin personally didn't really care what either of the teenage girls believed; his prime concern was Zatanna, whose expression had remained entirely unreadable throughout the ordeal. She simply studied him with her clear blue gaze, never taking her eyes off of him.

Finally, after her long silence, the magician spoke up. "Robin," she said firmly, her cerulean eyes locking with his, "If you don't have anything to hide, then just tell us: why do you always avoid talking about Batgirl?"

With one last desperate glance in Wally's direction, Dick was forced to resort to one last trick, one that he didn't like using, but understood its occasional necessity. _This_ was just such an occasion. After all, this wasn't a lie; it was a truth that avoided the truth.

"Sorry guys, but I don't talk about my partner because she's _my_ partner. That's a very personal part of my life, a part that belongs to the secret identity side of me, even as Batgirl and Robin. And as Batman always says, respecting each other's secret identities is a crucial part of working as a team. I have never withheld necessary information regarding missions, and if the time comes when I must, I will explain all that you want to know about Batgirl in full. But until that day comes, I must ask you to respect my privacy and stop asking such personal questions."

"Robin is correct." All heads swung back around to the team leader, who was already refilling his cup for the fourth time. "He is forced to hide his identity by Batman's orders. In order to keep such a think a secret, many other secrets must be kept as well. It is wrong of us to try and pry such things from Robin when all he is doing is trying to keep the peace." Kaldur stopped and began to gulp down the liquid.

"But—Yeah, I guess you're right," Raquel started to argue but instead turned to Robin and said, "Sorry Rob, I didn't mean to be so pushy."

"I—I didn't realize that you were ordered not to reveal anything to us," Zatanna added quietly, lightly setting her hand on his knee, "Sorry."

"Really, it's fine," Robin replied, feeling a twinge of guilt in his gut. _It's like Kaldur said,_ he reassured himself,_ I'm just trying to keep the peace._

"But ugh! I really wanted to meet her!" Rocket groaned, sinking back into the cushions of the couch.

Robin studied his teammates' expressions. "If you all want to meet Batgirl so badly, then you'll have to track her down on your own," he added with a small smirk, "That's the only way you'll get her to acknowledge you, anyway."

"That, or letting her push you off a roof," Wally mumbled under his breath, grimacing as he remembered the experience.

"She pushed you off a _roof_?"

"Don't ask. _Please,_ just don't."

Kaldur set his glass onto the counter and walked out in front of the couches. "Alright then," he told the group, a small smile playing at his lips, "We shall accept that challenge, Robin."

"Uh, what?"

"It is like I just said; we accept. In order to learn more about you and your life, my friend, we will search for Batgirl ourselves. If we find her, we are able to meet her, and at the same time, come to understand you a little more without rudely crossing anymore lines. We will not ask you these questions, but Batgirl herself. Do we have a deal?"

Wally just sat there staring at the leader, and as his proposal came to a close, the speedster's jaw dropped straight down to the floor. "Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwait WAIT," he stammered out at top speed, his hands raised up in front of him as if to stop the proposal from reaching his ears, "There is _no way in hell_ that you are gonna get me to go on some wild goose chase."

"Are you saying that we don't even stand a chance?" Superboy challenged, feeling slightly insulted by Wally's reaction.

"At finding a ninja bat in the dead of night in the middle of her own domain that's infested with all those freaks we _just_ got done fighting? _Of course _you don't stand a chance!"

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, boyfriend." The sarcasm in Artemis's voice hung on every word she spoke.

"And besides, Wally, it's not like we have to go out looking for her _tonight_," M'gann added cheerfully, "I mean, come on, we can hardly move."

Wally just shook his head. "No, you all are totally missing the point. I've known this girl for years, almost as long as I've known Rob, and I'm telling you that if Batsy doesn't want to be found, then she _won't _be. End of story."

"Ehehehehe."

The squabbling teens turned around to find Robin snickering suspiciously at their conversation. "Interesting," he said with a wide grin, "This could actually be quite entertaining. However, it's not very fair to have six of you against just one of her. So, let's even the odds. But the question is, _how_?" The team was pretty sure that Robin's eyes were shining with excitement underneath that domino mask as he pulled a simple flip phone out of his utility belt and began to type at lightspeed. He didn't even bother to shut the phone after sending the text, and within ten seconds, the mobile device beeped in notification of a new message. The acrobat smirked wickedly at the reply, before shifting his gaze back up to his now concerned teammates.

"Batgirl says she in," he snickered almost maniacally, "But only on one condition: no powers or weapons of any kind. If you can make your way through Gotham City from a starting point of my choosing without _ever_ using your powers, even when you run into a crime, and manage to find Batgirl, you can ask her anything about her _or_ my life. So, how's that sound?"

Wally looked like Robin had just suddenly smacked him in the face with a birdarang. "NOT ON YOUR FREAKING LIFE! NEVER! NO W—wait, did you just say, '_six_ of you'?" After a quick headcount, Wally leapt to his feet and did a double fist pump in the air with a loud woot, "Yeahhh! That doesn't include me! _Now_ we're talkin'!"

"Well, duh, Walls. Why on earth would you take part in this? I'm pretty sure you know _way_ more than you ever wanted to know about me and Batsy, anyway."

"That's for sure."

"And _I_ definitely can't take part. Batgirl and I underwent the same training, so we think the same way. It would be way too easy for me to find her." He looked at the remainder of the team and asked, "So, you all still up for it? The journey will be rough, but the reward is pretty sweet."

"That sounds like an intriguing experiment to me," agreed Kaldur before addressing the others, "My friends, we should give this type of tracking a try. Consider it a training exercise. Or maybe team building."

"Either way, I'm definitely in!" Rocket said excitedly, leaping to her feet and placing her hands on her hips, "There's no way I'd turn down such a great opportunity for a bit of fun."

Connor shifted forward in his seat, interested in the conversation for the first time that night. "So, basically, we'd have to rely on the skills that we've honed from our training sessions with Canary, the same ones Robin has to rely on everyday and in every fight?"

Artemis smiled. "I've always wanted to try being Robin for a day. Although, _you _still have that fancy utility belt, so shouldn't we get one as well?"

"Ha! Nice try Artie, but you of all people should understand the necessity of the basics even if you have a weapon," Robin snickered at the now frowning archer as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Us Bats could make it just as far without a utility belt as we could with one; it would just take a little more time and effort."

"This is so exciting!" M'gann squealed, flying into the air and clapping her hands, "It's just like a scavenger hunt, only on a superhero scale!"

"And you're right; the prize _is_ pretty sweet," Zatanna said with a smirk, a spark gleaming in her challenging eyes, "No matter how difficult, I plan on winning this little game."

Robin returned a smirk to his girlfriend. "Well then, you'd all better get ready for another long night."

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That's all for now! I don't know how often this will be updated, but i will try and be faster! I have exams soon, so it may take a little longer for now.

Also, don't forget to leave a review, and to fave and follow this if you liked it! Thanks for reading!


	2. The Bat Hunt Begins

Hey everyone! Thank you all **so** much for all the supportive and helpful reviews, as well as all the faves and story alerts! You all are too great and you seriously made my day :D And so, thanks entirely to all of your encouragement, I've already written Ch 2 :) So thank you again, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: As always, Nothing is mine but the writing.

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"You guys are nuts."

"So you keep telling us, Wally." Artemis shivered in the chill night air as she hugged her arms tightly around her body.

"I'm serious. You've all either totally lost it, or you just have absolutely no freaking idea what you're about to get yourselves into."

"How hard could it be?" Superboy said in a bored voice as he walked over from the opposite side of the roof that Robin had chosen as their starting ground, "We just follow the trail of destruction until we find her. Simple."

"No, that's how we find _you_, Supey," Wally replied, stuffing the last of a bacon and horseradish sandwich into his mouth and licking his fingers clean. "Do you really think you could track down _Batman_ with a basic plan like that?"

"No, but she's not Batm—OW!" Connor's retort was cut short by a sharp electric shock as Robin successfully clamped the metal armband around the Kryptonian's wrist. "I… _felt_ that," he said quietly as he studied the bracelet, eyes wide with surprise, "I shouldn't have been able to feel that little jolt…"

Robin grinned widely at his dumbfounded friend. "These inhibitor bands are modeled after the collars they use in Belle Reve, only with a few extra adjustments. For starters, these don't shock you—"

"Yeah, right."

"—these don't shock you, _unless_ you try to take them off by force. That little charge you felt was just the circuits linking up with your sensory and muscular systems so that it can subdue your powers."

"Oh, is that all," Superboy commented dryly.

"Not quite," Robin responded, too busy tinkering with M'gann's band to notice the sarcasm in the clone's words, "Bang, stab, or burn this thing all you want, and it still won't come off. The only way to remove it is to find either me or Batgirl, since we're the only ones who know how. If you have Batgirl remove it, obviously that means you win, but if you have me remove it, it will be considered as a forfeit." He ended his explanation with an amused snort, "Not that you'll be able to find me, either."

"What, you're not even gonna stick around to watch us struggle?"

"I never said _that_," the Boy Wonder replied with a smirk. He reached for another inhibitor band and clamped it around Raquel's wrist, a spark of electricity igniting at the connection.

She gave a small yelp and yanked her hand back. "Hey, watch it! Superboy, that was hardly a 'little jolt'! Are these things really necessary?"

"Yes, to ensure that you don't purposely _or_ accidently cheat." After attaching Kaldur's band without any complaints from the electric-powered Atlantian, Robin turned his attention to Zatanna. Gently taking her hand in his, he carefully wrapped the bracelet around her slim wrist and carefully tightened it.

Zatanna blushed slightly at his ginger touch and gave him a bright smile. "Where did you get these things, anyway?"

"I made them with some of the scraps laying around the Bat Cave," Robin replied with a teasing smirk, "No biggie." With a soft click, Robin set the band in place and released her hand.

"_Hers_ didn't zap her," Raquel mumbled as she rubbed her still tingling forearm and initiating a snicker from the non-powered Artemis.

Robin smirked mischievously and turned around. "Alright Artemis, your turn."

"What? But I don't have any powers, you know that."

"True, but you _do_ have plenty of weapons."

The archer froze in place and quite obviously avoided looking anyone in the eye. "I left them all at home, like you told us to."

The team just stared at her in a silent consensus that she was definitely hiding some sort of compact bow somewhere.

"What? I'm serious!"

"Artemis, you never go _anywhere_ without a weapon. You even hid one in your purse on our first date just in case I tried anything. I mean, most girls threaten their date with pepper spray, not a crossbow with poisoned arrows."

"Look! I told you I didn't bring anything, so I didn't bring anything! Just drop it."

"Wally. Strip-search her!" Robin ordered, pointing a finger in Artemis's direction.

Artemis took a hesitant step back in retreat. "W-w-w-wait, no, what are y—hey, _hands off_! I told you, I don't ha—AH! WALLY DON'T YOU DARE—OK OK I'LL DO IT MYSELF, JUST BACK IT UP, KID IDIOT!"

"Awww. Don't you wanna get naked in a fun way, _ninja girlfriend_?"

"WALLY WEST, I AM GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE AND BEAT YOU WITH YOUR OWN EPIDERMIS IF YOU DO NOT STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Wow," Zatanna giggled, "I can really feel the love between them."

"Well, at least we know that their relationship isn't moving too fast," Raquel added.

"WOULD YOU ALL STOP LAUGHING AT MY PAIN AND HELP ME ALREADY!"

Robin cackled into the cold night air, but held up a hand to halt his best friend, "Alright, Walls, that's enough. I brought a metal detector and a simplified x-ray device with me for exactly this reason."

Artemis reluctantly dumped a pile of knives, crossbows and retractable kali sticks onto the roof, gaping at the younger boy. "Then why didn't you just use that to begin with!"

"Oh, this was _way_ more entertaining."

Before the fuming archer could pounce on their youngest teammate, Kaldur stepped in between them and asked, "So all we must do is find Batgirl without using our abilities, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right. Oh oh oh. One more thing. I need all of your com-links."

Artemis just blinked at him. "What? But then how will we communicate, since we can't use Miss M's telepathic link?"

"The old fashioned way: talking face to face." Robin struggled to keep his composure when he saw the shocked and nearly horrified looks on the others' faces. "I told you," he snickered, "_The basics_."

"So you expect us to search this entire city without long distance communication?"

"Yep, just like _we_ used to do all the time. We didn't start using com-links until about three years ago, just before Wally and Kaldur became sidekicks."

"See?" Wally exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air for emphasis, "This is why I said you were nuts. I learned a long time ago that you never _ever_ make a deal with these two. And I learned that the hard way."

"I'm starting to understand why," M'gann joked lightheartedly.

"Hey," Conner interrupted, flipping open a tiny panel on his band, "What does this button do?"

Immediately, every team member looked down at their own high-tech bracelet, and sure enough, they each discovered a small red button hidden beneath a metal flap.

"I was getting to that. That would be your forfeit button. If things get too hairy or you just get sick of searching, you can press this and I'll come running to remove the inhibitor band. _However_, I should warn you that you are working as a team, so if one of you quits, all of you are disqualified. If one of you finds Batgirl, you all win; if one of you gives up, you all lose. Got it?"

Artemis's jaw dropped. "What! That wasn't part of the deal!"

"We understand," Kaldur answered calmly.

"Wh—uh, no we don't!" Raquel turned to glare at the unfazable Atlantian.

"Good," he said with a curt nod, ignoring the girls' outbursts, "You have until sunrise, since that's our quitting time." He grabbed Artemis's arm and snapped a small bracelet onto her wrist, then explained, "This is _your _forfeit button, since you don't need an inhibitor band." Then, kneeling down, Robin scooped up the overwhelmingly large pile of weapons and turned on his heels to leave. With one last glance back at his friends, he flashed them his familiar grin and told them, "Good luck." And with that, he fell backwards straight off the edge of the roof and plummeted into the eerie darkness of Gotham's back alleys.

"Well then, guess that's my cue to skedaddle, too," yawned Wally, stretching his arms out above his head. He zipped over to Artemis and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Well, try not to tire yourselves out _too_ much, 'kay? Good luck!" Snapping his goggles into place, the speedster took off into the distance until the remainder of the team couldn't even make out his brightly colored figure.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like there were a whole bunch of extra rules added to this 'game' from what we agreed on yesterday?" Raquel asked, placing her hands on her hips

"Yeah, it's like they're doing everything in their power to keep us from winning," Conner agreed as he peered over the ledge where Robin had leapt from.

"That is because that is exactly what they are doing," Kaldur said simply.

The others gave him confused looks. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Is it not a little strange that Robin would offer a reward of complete access to his life story just minutes after he'd desperately protected those same secrets?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yeah I guess it is pretty weird. But if he really _is_ trying to make us lose, what was the point of creating this challenge to begin with?"

"You have missed a very important point, Raquel. Robin did not create this challenge; he just took control of it and manipulated it to his advantage. If you will remember, _I_ was the one to originally propose this idea, not him."

"That _still_ doesn't explain why he went through with it," the girl huffed impatiently. Getting Kaldur to go straight to the point was sometimes more trouble than it was worth.

"He had no choice. Once I accepted his unintentional challenge, he had no way of keeping his secrets under wraps anymore. If he had not taken control of the situation, we could have simply located Batgirl while she was unaware of our deal. She would have had no reason to hide from fellow heroes, and we could have asked her our questions freely. In order to counter that, Robin turned this into a sort of game, one where he is the gamesmaster and we are the powerless players."

"But when he made it into a game, he also upped the ante by offering up _all_ info on him rather than just the things Batgirl would've said," M'gann thought out loud, "Why would he risk exposing his secret identity when Batman told him not to?"

"Because he does not expect us to win," Kaldur explained patiently, "This game exists simply to curb our curiosity, as well as serve as amusement for the two of them. That is why he has taken so many precautions to hinder us, and that is also why we must be prepared to face even _more_ along the way."

"You think we'll run into some trouble along the way?" Zatanna asked, sounding a little surprised by the notion that her boyfriend may have set up traps for them.

"Yes, perhaps even simply because Gotham is a breeding ground for crime. Without our powers and weapons, we will not be able to handle quite as much as we are used to. And that is why I suggest that we stay together, at least for now."

"Whatever, you're the boss, Kaldur," Superboy cut in definitively, "But let's hurry up and get moving before we waste anymore time."

Kaldur nodded, then studied the watch he had borrowed from Wally specifically for this purpose. "You are right, Superboy. It is precisely 10:06 right now, and that only leaves us with roughly 8 hours to search the entire city for Batgirl. It may be nearly impossible, but this is an opportunity to understand Robin on a deeper level, a level that I believe he himself is hesitant to reach, and this chance may never present itself to us again."

Zatanna took a second to ponder their leader's words. "I agree," she declared, determination overflowing from her clear blue eyes. "Let's give it all we've got."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. They were already there, no point in backing out now.

"Well then," Kaldur said, turning to scan over the never-ending horizon of rooftops that made up Gotham City, "Where shall we start?"

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Well, that's all for now :) Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review and fave if you did! Thank you all once again!


	3. The Gamesmasters

Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for all the support and the amazing reviews! This chapter's a bit on the short side, but i hope you'll bare with it because this way i'm able to update more often for you all. So, i hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Same as always. Young Justice belongs to DC Comics. But the fic is mine. _Alllllll_ mine.

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**10:16 PM**

"What on earth am I supposed to do with all these?" Robin mumbled to himself as he leapt from building to building. He had expected Artemis to try to sneak in some weapons, but not _this_ many. Then again, he did keep forgetting that she was raised by supervillains. Remembering to hide a switchblade in her pocket was probably as routine as brushing her teeth every morning.

After making his way across the city with some difficulty due to the added bulk of his load, the acrobat reached a higher elevated tower. He landed firmly but ungracefully as his feet hit the rooftop with a clumsy thud, something a protégé of the Bat was never supposed to do. Robin just hoped that his sloppy landing had gone unnoticed.

"You couldn't have been any louder if you'd landed on a building made of bubblewrap," taunted a familiar voice with a small snicker, "Seriously, how could you possibly—_woah_, that's a lot of toys."

_So much for going unnoticed._ He dumped the stock of "toys" onto the roof in front of his feet and smirked at the red-headed girl who had just chastised him. "Oh shut up, Babs. Nobody else but you and Bruce would have ever noticed me just then. Besides," he told her, crossing the rooftop and taking a seat next to her with his feet dangling over the edge, "I kinda had my hands full."

"Where did all _those_ come from?" asked his caped companion, her head still turned back to look at the pile of weaponry.

"Artemis. Honestly, how she managed to stuff that many crossbows into her skin-tight costume, I'll never know."

Batgirl gave a small laugh, "It's kinda a superhero thing, Dick. I mean, how many times have _we_ been asked where we keep all our little gadgets?" She kicked her legs back and forth, like a small child sitting in an oversized chair. "I'm just lucky that it's my job to do the laundry and not Dad's; I swear, I've found one too many batarangs that I'd forgotten to take out stuffed in my clothes."

"Can't say that I can relate," he replied, lying back with him hands under the back of his head, "Things like that aren't really problematic when your guardian himself sleeps with four or five under his pillow."

"That really doesn't surprise me," she said flatly. It was so sad, so _true_, it wasn't even funny to them anymore. "So," she started, trying to change the subject before it had a chance to depress both of them, "You think they even have a chance of finding us?" Typing something into the buttons on her glove, a holoscreen emerged in the empty air in front of the two sidekicks. The camera was angled down on a lower level building, following the group of costumed teens as they slowly made their way across the roof.

Robin almost snorted. "When they don't even know that we have complete hacking glory of every security camera in Gotham, as well as our own mentor's specially-placed BatCams? Please, they don't stand a chance." He paused considering what he'd just said then added, "Then again, my team has a knack for surprising people. If _anyone_ stands any chance against our combined forces, it's those guys." He smiled up at her mischievously, "But I do hope they last awhile, especially with the fun we've got planned for them. You did manage to collect the necessary 'ingredients' for our plan, didn't you?"

"Ha! What do you take me for, Robin? Of course I got them," she turned back to the screen before finishing her sentence, "And _more_."

Robin lifted up his head to look at his best friend. He knew that tone, and he knew that look, and he was officially a little scared for his friends. Wally had been right; they really had _no idea_ what they were getting themselves into. "Babs... What did you do?" he asked cautiously, removing his domino mask to look her in the eye. He might as well; other than Wally, she was the only person he was allowed to totally drop his guard around.

Barbara Gordon followed his lead and pulled down her cowl, freeing her scarlet hair to fall delicately around her cheeks. With a smirk, she pointed at the holoscreen and told him, "Just keep watching, Boy Blunder. You'll know it when you see it."

The cool night breeze suddenly shifted direction, only for a second, a second that the average person would have ignored or left unnoticed. But Dick and Barbara had never been 'normal', even before donning the cape and taking to the streets. "Hey, Wally," they called out simultaneously without even turning back to look.

Wally huffed in annoyance as he strode over and sat down next to Barbara, dumping one of the two ridiculously oversized tubs of buttered popcorn he was carrying into her arms. "Really, guys? I wasn't even _trying_ to sneak up on you, and it _still_ bugs the hell outta me when you do that creepy 'eyes-in-the-back-of-your-head' thing." He gave another aggravated sigh before just letting it go and asking through a mouthful of popcorn, "So, what'd I miss?"

"Nothing yet. We're just letting them wander around for a bit first, let them clean up some of the street scum for us, and then _that's_ where the fun begins."

"And it looks like they've leapt right into the lion's den already," Robin laughed at the screen, taking a greasy handful of popcorn from the bucket in Bab's lap, "Are we really the only ones able to recognize the signs of a gang headquarters and effectively avoid it? What on earth have the other Leaguers been teaching these guys?"

"The problem is that most of the League members don't know how to either. You know that," Barbara reminded him.

Wally looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

She took a bite of popcorn before elaborating on her explanation. "Most cities don't have as many or as large of gangs as we do, and even then, theirs are always a little more obvious. So, most superheroes can't handle crime like this in Gotham. Why do you think Bruce never lets anyone else fight in Gotham without him there? He lets me and Dick roam around the city freely, but even the other Leaguers get a firm "Bat Talk" if they so much as take down a purse-snatcher on the outskirts of town."

Robin's smile widened and he jumped in to add, "Yeah, one time, Superman wasn't listening to him, and Bats got so pissed off that he handcuffed their wrists together for the rest of the mission. Obviously, with the Krytonian ego and all that, Big Blue spent most of the time flying around in loops and swoop-diving at every metal flagpole he could find."

Batgirl snickered, remembering the scene all too vividly. "Now _that_ was one night I will never forget. We were laughing so hard that we couldn't breathe properly for nearly 10 minutes after they landed and Bruce slapped the Man of Steel in the back of the head."

Wally just stared at the two of them as they broke into another fit of giggles from just the memory. "Wait. You were watching? The _entire time_? Did you, ya know, ever think about trying to _help_ your mentor out of being bashed around like a bat-shaped ragdoll?"

Dick snorted as he tried to keep from bursting into laughter, "Yeah right! We were a little too busy recording his face as he slammed straight into a pot planter. It took him a good 20 seconds to pry that thing off his head!" They couldn't take it any longer, and they both sputtered into a fit of cackling and guffawing until they were teary eyed.

"You two are _evil_." Watching the Batkids crying with laughter, Wally understood why Batman had only let Robin join the team and not Batgirl; it was because the two of them together made a very dangerous duo, and no hero would be safe from their antics. Sure, he was known for his pranks, but that was only by the people who had never been 'Bat-trapped'. These two were the true evil masterminds.

The speedster turned his attention back to the holoscreen. "It doesn't look like they're fighting that gang," he pointed out to the other two.

Resuming composure, Robin looked up to survey the situation. "I think Kaldur's attempting to talk them down and then make a break for it. In their current situation, that would be the wisest plan of action."

"But that's _soooooo boring_!" Wally whined in between mouthfuls.

"Well, I guess we can intervene a little at this point," Barbara decided on random, also starting to get bored with the slow pace, "Don't wanna make it too easy for them."

Dick raised an eyebrow at his partner. "And how are we going to do that from here? It's not like this was part of the plan."

"Simple. We just send out our little errand boy to handle that part."

Wally looked up quizzically from his already half empty tub, butter smeared across his face. "Errand boy? Who—Oh, no. _No_. No way! I am NOT dirtying my hands any more than I already have! My girlfriend will already kill me just for _watching_ her suffering, and I don't even wanna know what she'll do if she finds out I took part in your little tricks!"

"Well, you've already incriminated yourself in her eyes, so you might as well keep going," Barbara tried to persuade him, "Besides, if you run as fast as you claim you're able to, then no one will even know it was you."

Wally considered her words, though he still looked incredibly unconvinced. "Fine," he sighed tiredly, "What do I have to do?"

Barbara tossed him a comlink and explained, "I'll instruct you over that as you go. Now hurry up, or we'll lose our chance!"

Wally smoothly caught the tiny black mechanism and stuck it in his ear with another sigh before taking off across the roofs.

"You're just getting back at him for that time he plastered your locker with fangirly pictures of himself, aren't you?"

"Well, duh. I can't believe he actually thought he was getting out of this unscathed," she smirked as she shoveled some popcorn from Wally's tub into her mouth. Robin couldn't stop snickering; Batgirl knew as well as he did that Wally _hated_ people eating his food, and she was obviously relishing revenge in every bite.

"You're really enjoying this," he stated rather than asked.

The redhead turned a wide grin on him. "Oh, you _know_ I am."

Robin laid back down with a chuckle. _Batgirl; the only other person in the world with my sense of humor._

* * *

Ta-da! Hope you enjoyed it :) Once again, thank you all so much for taking the time to read! And as always, don't forget to leave a review! :3


	4. The Powerless Players

**A/N:** Thank you guys so much! You are all amazing! I know I say this every time, but all this support is just amazing :) I'm sorry this chapter took so much longer to get out, but I just finished my exams and moved from the UK back to Florida, so things have been kinda hectic.

Also, I wanted to point out that I _am_ taking a few liberties with Rocket's character simply because we didn't get to see much of her, but I really loved her character and wanted to use her. I am trying my best to keep her canon, but I do have to assume a little bit. But if anyone knows a little more about her from the comics or something, feel free to let me know in a review or PM! :D

Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me and taking the time to read! So I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**10:09 PM**

"Alright, let's go this wa—_AAAYY_!"

"Geez, Raquel, what are you—ACK!" Artemis flailed her arms forward, crawling through the air in attempt to right herself once more. "_Don't pull me down with you!_"

"What, you _want_ me to fall to my death?" Rocket shot back, mustering as much sass as she could manage after nearly plummeting down the side of a 50-story skyscraper.

"You wouldn't have to if you'd just _stop jumping off of stuff!_ What is this, the fourth time in the past five minutes!"

"I know, but—I just can't get used to not being able to fly," Rocket explained as she followed the rest of the team off the ledge and landing on the shorter neighboring building.

"Oh, boo hoo. You have to walk on your own two feet like the rest of us normal people."

"Artemis, I would hardly call a 15-year-old girl that takes a crossbow on a date a '_normal'_ person," M'gann noted a bit hesitantly.

Kaldur sighed audibly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Team, we need to keep moving, or we will run out of time." He continued walking across the roof and mumbled under his breath, "I remember a time when _Kid _and_ Robin_ were the troublesome duo. And I thought it could not get any noisier than that."

"I heard that, Fish Face!" Rocket snapped as she trailed after the Atlantian.

"Ummmm, you guys," Zatanna called from the far end of the rooftop, "We've got a small problem."

"What do you mea—Oh." Artemis answered her own unfinished question as she walked over to her friend's side only to find a 15 meter stretch of void empty space in between their roof and the next one on their path. "_That's_ what you mean."

"That wouldn't be a problem normally but… what do we do?" M'gann asked, surveying their surroundings, "There's a busy highway to our left and a bunch of tiny houses to our right; this is the only possible direction."

"Should we just retrace our steps and find a new path?" Rocket suggested.

"We cannot. The building we just came from was a good five meters taller than this one," Kaldur replied, motioning in the direction they had just come from, "Getting down might have been easy, but getting up will be a bit trickier."

"Then how are we supposed to get across?" Artemis asked, her patience already being tried.

Raquel eyed the expansive gap. "We could just—"

"_NO_." Artemis replied sternly, yanking Raquel back away from the edge, "NO MORE JUMPING OFF BUILDINGS, ROCKET. _NO. MORE._"

The dark-skinned girl huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Well, what do _you_ suggest we do then, Rapunzel? Make a pulley system out of your hair and swing across like they did in _Tangled_? 'Cause I'm pretty sure we've got a better chance at jumping."

Conner stared intensely into the gaping space, and then up at the opposing rooftop. "Well, I might not have my super strength, but I think I can still lift heavy stuff," he suggested seriously, "Maybe I can try throwing you guys across?"

Artemis's jaw dropped. She was seriously starting to wonder if those inhibitor bands of theirs also suppressed rationality, or maybe _sanity_. "LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" she spluttered out, skittering backwards away from the depowered Kryptonian.

"Boy, you did _NOT_ just call me heavy!" Raquel snapped at Superboy, jabbing a finger into his chest pointedly, "There somethin' you tryin' to tell me, _Dunderhead_ of Steel?"

Zatanna was desperately trying to suppress her laughter; the image of Superboy throwing people like javelins wouldn't be leaving her brain anytime soon. "Sorry Conner, back I don't think you've quite got a grasp of what regular human strength is like. Even with your build, that's a bit impossible."

"'Not quite got a grasp'? _Zee_, he wanted to throw us across the _urban Grand Canyon_!" Artemis ranted almost hysterically, arms swinging out dramatically in the direction of the enormous gap.

"Yeah, and I don't particularly fly like my namesake right now," Rocket added.

"You would if I threw you," Superboy grumbled moodily under his breath, annoyed with the backtalk he was getting for his idea.

"Don't you _dare_."

"Come on, guys," M'gann said calmingly, easing her way between Rocket and Superboy. "Let's not fight, or we'll never figure this out."

"Hey Miss M, you're still green, so is it possible that you still have some of your powers?" Zatanna suggested, helping the Martian move the heat off of Conner.

M'gann shook her head in response. "I think Robin did something to my band so that it freezes my shape-shifting ability rather than revoking it. He really did think of everything, didn't he?"

Artemis threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Then what do we do!"

"Well, you could start by ending your argument and helping me move this," came Kaldur's voice from behind them. They'd been so absorbed in the bickering that they hadn't even noticed him walk back across the rooftop and dig around in the darkness until he found something.

"Wha—Aqualad, where did you find that ladder?"

"It is not a ladder. It appears to be an old fire escape. It was probably replaced with a much safer means of evacuation, and they just did not know what to do with it and left it up here."

"And… what exactly are we going to do with that?" Rocket asked, not really liking where this was going.

"This 'ladder' was made long enough to reach multiple floors. If we can get the other end to reach the other roof, we should be able to safely make our way across. "

Artemis was left speechless, _yet again_. "Let me get this straight. You want us to walk across a _50-story drop_ on an old _ladder_ that was replaced due to _safety issues_, and you think that's _safe_? That's it, it's official! Those bands are _definitely_ suppressing your brain cells!"

The Atlantian simply ignored her protests and continued to haul the fire escape over to the ledge. "Girls, grab the end closest to the ledge and hold it steady. Superboy, help me with this end."

Grumbling, Artemis joined her fellow superheroines at their assigned post and got a firm grip on the fire escape. Superboy joined Aqualad on the other side and, with some difficulty, the boys slowly began to hoist their end of the ladder into the air. When it was completely vertical, the heroes slowly tipped it over so that the free end landed on the opposing rooftop.

"Well, that was easy enough," M'gann said optimistically, "But… will it really hold our weight?"

"Only one way to find out," Conner replied, and before any of the others could stop him, he stepped out onto the first rung of the ladder. Thankfully, the fire escape had been made bulkier than a normal ladder, so there was more room for the Kryptonian to step. Holding his arms out to balance himself, Conner stepped from rung to rung, unbothered by the immense height. "Well, it's holding _my_ weight just fine, so come on."

"Well, according to you, we're 'heavy stuff'," Raquel finger quoted, her voice dripping with venom.

"_Oh, for the love of_—Just hurry up and cross already!" Superboy yelled over the wind with a roll of his eyes. He stepped off the final rung of the ladder and shot a glare at the dark skinned girl. "Or would rather me come back and _throw you_ over instead?"

That did it. "Alright, _that's it_!" Raquel bellowed over the gap, stomping over to the makeshift bridge, "I'm going first so that I can knock that thick blockhead of yours right off your shoulders!"

M'gann gave a little sigh and Kaldur had to muffle a chuckle. It was pretty clear to everyone but the frustrated Raquel that Superboy was purposefully baiting her into crossing the ladder. Not that it was very hard to do; after all, who knows how to irritate a short-tempered, impulsive super teen more than another short-tempered, impulsive super teen?

Raquel, fueled by her frustration towards the Kryptonian, made it over halfway without a hitch, until her concentration was broken by the bark of a dog far, _far_ below her.

Rocket's eyes widened as realization hit her. "Woah… that's… really high…"

"Hurry up already, or the ladder may buckle under your weight!"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT IT ALREADY, _SUPERDUNCE_! I AM _SO_ GONNA WOOP YOUR ASS OF STEEL WHEN I GET OVER THERE—"

Thanks to Superboy's taunts, Rocket made it all the way across safely, but by the time Zatanna and M'gann had both crossed and joined them on the other side, he had already learned that a haymaker to the face and a kick to the shin hurt a lot more when your ass isn't as hard as steel anymore. Kaldur crossed the fire escape with ease, leaving only Artemis on the other side.

"Are… are you sure this is safe?" she asked, easing her way across the ladder.

"It held all of us, so you should be fine," Zatanna comforted her friend.

"Should? _Should?_ Zee, thanks, but that's really not helping!"

"Ehe… Sorry."

_Creeaaakkkk._ The heroes all froze, looking from Artemis to the ladder.

The archer slowly lifted her gaze to her teammates, eyes wide but the fire in them never dying. "What… was that," she growled out through gritted teeth.

Kaldur's eyes flashed with concern, but he quickly composed himself and locked eyes with the archer. "Artemis. Do not stop now. It will be fine, just _do not stop_."

The fire in Artemis's glare could set the entire Amazon forest ablaze, but she continued crossing rung by rung, each step creaking louder than the last. "I swear, if this thing collapses, I will come back from the grave and haunt you all for the rest of your days!" she spat out, half terrified, half infuriated.

"Well, Artemis, you can threaten us all you want once you get across, so _keep moving_," M'gann said with a forced laugh, but her tone was strained and insistent.

_CREEEAAAKKK!_

Now even Kaldur was unable to hide his panic. "Artemis!" he yelled out desperately, "Jump!"

She was still four rungs away, but the blonde archer did not need to be told twice when she felt the metal begin to sag beneath her. Pushing off from the ladder with all her might, Artemis propelled herself through the air just as she heard a final '_CRACK!'_ from behind her and the metal fire escape plummeted to the ground. But she had been too far away, and her outstretched arms fell just short of the concrete ledge. And for that moment, Artemis truly thought she was a goner. But she felt two sets of strong hands grip her wrists, and in the next instant she found herself hauled up onto the rooftop.

"Artemis!" screeched a wide-eyed M'gann, who had dropped to her knees and immediately went about fussing over the archer, "Artemis, are you ok?"

"'_Cross the ladder' _he says; _'It'll be safe'_ HE SAYS!" Artemis practically screams, forcing her lungs to work again and throwing an incriminating glare at the Atlantian.

"It's a good thing nobody was walking under the ladder when it fell," Rocket sighed after checking the damage down below, "They would've been in the hospital for ages."

"Yeah, talk about bad luck," Superboy remarked dryly.

Zatanna walked over to Rocket's side and peered down the edge of the building, silently staring at the impossibly high drop. "We said we'd give it our all, but will that really be anything near enough?" she asked quietly, eyes glued to the conquered obstacle, "We couldn't even figure out how to get across a rooftop."

"It'll be fine!" Rocket said, giving her friend's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We're just getting the hang of things right now. And I mean, come on, we kick ass for a living, so it's not like any criminals we run into will be a problem."

Zatanna smiled softly. "Maybe you're right."

"Alright," Kaldur said definitively after helping a reluctant and spiteful Artemis to her feet, "Let us continue."

* * *

**10:25 PM**

"Um, guys, where the heck are we?"

"Some back alley," Kaldur answered without turning to look back at Artemis.

"_All_ of Gotham City is just 'some back alley'," the archer countered, "If we're not careful, we're gonna end up going in circles."

"But there really isn't anything we can do about that," M'gann pointed out as they turned another dark corner, "Maybe we could go find a store and buy a map of Goth—oh, _Hello_, Megan! Let's check out this place!"

The team turned to look in the direction M'gann was now pointing. Standing at the end of another dank alleyway was what appeared to be an old rundown storage facility. The overwhelmingly tall buildings looming over it from every side kept it secluded and inconspicuous, although it itself was quite large. Graffiti coated every inch of the dilapidated construct, and most of its windows had been shattered.

"It's so hidden away we almost didn't notice it," the Martian girl explained hopefully, "Doesn't that sound like the kind of place Robin would choose to hide?"

Zatanna studied the old building. "It does sound like something he would do, but _he_ isn't the one we're looking for, remember?"

"That is true, but M'gann's theory is still solid," Kaldur cut in, "When Robin explained why he could not take part in this game, he said that it was because he and Batgirl had the same training and thus think the same way. So, if we consider her strategic methods similar to Robin's—"

"—we just have to constantly ask ourselves, 'What Would Robin Do?'" Raquel finished impatiently, already walking towards the smaller building, "If that's the case, I agree with Miss M's idea. It won't hurt to just check the place out."

"Guys, wait." Artemis shifted in place nervously. She had a bad feeling about this, and she really hoped she was mistaken. "There's something wrong with this place."

"What? It's just an abandoned building, Artie. What could possibly be wrong with it?" Raquel called back as she made her way over to the door, the others following suit.

"No, wait, don't go—" Artemis's words were left unsaid and unheard as the door opened and the young heroes nonchalantly walked inside. Artemis groaned and rubbed her temples before running in after them.

The building was far more spacious than it had appeared from the outside, although the team was unable to tell just how large the room was. The only light to see by came from the broken windows sprinkled around the walls, and even many of those had been boarded up. All the teens were able to see was the pitch black void spread out before them.

"Are there any lights?" Superboy asked, fumbling across the wall in search of a light switch.

"You guys!" Artemis called as she raced through the open door, "Listen to me! The problem with going into an abandoned building in Gotham is that they're never completely abandoned!"

"Very good, little lady," sneered an unfamiliar voice.

Suddenly, the door behind them slammed shut and bright lights flashed on, blinding the heroes temporarily. Artemis blinked the spots from her eyes and refocused on the new problem at hand. Sometimes she really hated being right.

"You all shoulda listened to the pretty blondie over there," the owner of the voice continued, twirling a pistol around in his hands like a simple play thing, "She seems to be the only one of ya's with enough street smarts to survive in this town."

Artemis gave a tired sigh. "The first thing you learn when growing up in Gotham," she explained to her friends, "Is that 'abandoned' buildings are prime locations for gangs to make their bases."

"Right again, sweet cheeks," the man replied, flashing her a toothy grin before adding, "Not that that little tidbit will do you any good now."

Now with the lights on, the teen heroes could clearly see that the room was full of thugs and goons, all armed and dangerous. They were completely surrounded.

Artemis sighed again. _Robin was right,_ she grumbled inwardly, _This is going to be a very, _very_ long night._

* * *

**A/N:** That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed it :) I'm going on a trip out of country with a few friends soon in celebration of graduation, so I'm not sure when I'll next be able to update, but I'll do my best to make it fast! Thank you and I love you all! Please review and let me know what you thought!


	5. The Trap

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your patience and support for the past couple weeks. I had a great trip, but it's great to be home, and I've finally found the time to write some more for you :) I know it's a bit shorter than usual, but the next chapter should be longer, so please bare with me. So, I hope you enjoy, and I hope to get the next chapter out soon, as I've already started on it!

* * *

"Why! Just _why_!" Artemis hissed at her fellow teammates. The gang had them totally surrounded, the sounds of cocking guns reverberating off the filth-coated walls. "What on earth were you thinking! You should've listened to me!"

"Forgive us, Artemis, you are right. We should have heard you out before entering."

"OH, YA THINK?"

"Hey kiddies," the leader called out to them, "I'd tell ya to have your little tiff elsewhere, but unfortunately, we can't let ya's leave. So just zip it."

"What, you wanna _go_, buddy?" Raquel challenged back, already rolling up her sleeves and getting ready to charge at the gang leader.

Kaldur grabbed her arm before she could storm off into trouble. "Rocket, wait," he ordered firmly, but then dropped his voice to a hushed whisper, "He is just trying to rile you up. Please do not give him the satisfaction."

"Oh, come on, Kal!" Raquel whined back, although she dropped her own volume to match his, "Just let me sock that sleazy grin off his face!"

"_Wait_," he hissed again, "Let me try to get us out of this first. And if that does not work—"

"—_then_ I can hit 'im where it hurts?"

"Yes, then. But _not_ _yet_."

"Hey! What'd I just say, fish head?" the irked gang leader bellowed, cocking the pistol in his hand, "Just shut yer yap, already!"

"Please listen to me," the Atlantian raised his hands up in surrender, "We are not here to cause you any grief. We are simply looking for someone. If you let us leave now, we can avoid all meaningless conflict and struggle. So—"

"Ha! _Riiiiiight_. Of _course_ it was just an accident that six super brats stumbled upon our humble abode, eh?"

"Yes, that is precisely what happened," Kaldur stated simply without even batting an eye.

The man rolled his eyes. "Come on now, do you take me for an idiot or sometin'?" he replied with a casual twirl of his pistol, "I've been around dis joint longer than you brats have been alive, and I've learned a thing or two from dealin' wit' those Bats! You supers can never just leave things be, always gotta stick yer nose into everyone else's business!"

Kaldur shook his head. "Not this time. We are not from around here. As far as we know, you have done nothing wrong, and thus we have no reason to turn you over to the police."

The gang leader's eyes narrowed as he listened to Kaldur's plea, but his gun remained pointed at the Atlantean's chest. Aqualad took this as a good sign, and continued his attempt, "We do not know who you are, nor where _we_ are, so even if we wanted to report you, we would have no way of finding or identifying you."

"Come on, boss, don't listen to this wanna-be-hero!" yelled an action-hungry follower from behind a machine gun, "Just shoot 'im already and shut 'im up for good!"

"You shut the hell up!" The leader swung his pistol around on his lacky, glaring him down before turning back to Aqualad. "Go on, fish head. Tell me why it'd be better to let ya all go instead of killin' ya."

"We do not know this city, so we would be unable to turn you in. And if we really wanted to hand you over to the police, we would have attacked you already, rather than try to talk this out." Mumbling could be heard throughout the mob of thugs at this comment. Kaldur waited for the commotion to die back down before continuing, "However, if you kill us, you will have to face the wrath of the League. _And_ that of a very good friend of ours, who happens to know these streets very,_ very _well. And I do not think that is something you want to deal with, considering that you've dealt with the 'Bats' before."

Eyebrow twitching slightly, the gang leader finally lowered his pistol to his side. "So, we let ya's go, and you all keep yer mouths shut?"

"Yes, that is correct," Kaldur said with a nod, then held out his hand to the scruffy man. "Do we have a deal?"

The thug eyed the outstretched hand suspiciously. "How do I know I can trust ya? How can I be sure that everythin' you just told me is da truth?"

"I am an Atlantian," Kaldur responded matter-of-factly, "And an Atlantian _never_ goes back on his word."

The man's eyes flicked from the young hero's face back to the offered hand before swapping his pistol from his right hand to his left and reaching forward to accept the handshake.

_Whooooosh._

"Wooahh!" A couple of thugs suddenly toppled to the ground near the back of the building, causing every head to turn back in surprise.

The leader's eyebrow twitched again. "What are you bozos—"

"Wait, boss," one other man cut him off, "What's that noise?"

A hand gripped Kaldur's shoulder from behind. "Aqualad," came Artemis's harsh whisper. Between her biting nails and her venomous tone, he knew that she was thinking the same thing as him.

_Beep._

"Boss, did you hear it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it Freddie, now shut up."

_Beep…beep…beep._

"Boss… what is that?"

"It's nothing! Probably just yer watch, now if you don't mind, I'll—"

_Whoooooosh._

"WHAAA!" Another three goons face-planted into the cold cement.

"Would you idiots quit trippin' ov'r yerselves, already!"

_Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep._

"Boss, the beeping is getting faster!"

"I KNOW, SHUT UP!"

"Kaldur," Superboy spoke up, "That noise isn't just getting faster. It's also coming from two different points in the building. They're—"

"Bombs," Kaldur finished for him, eyes still locked on the men arguing in front of them.

"And I'll give you three guessing as to who could place and engage two bombs in less than five seconds without anyone seeing him," Artemis growled, eyes flashing with anger, "If we get out of this alive, remind me to maim my boyfriend, 'kay?"

_Whoooooosh. Whooooooooosh._

_Beep-beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep-beep._

"Superboy, how many bombs did he set?"

"Three, four, five… maybe more. I—I can't really tell without my super-hearing…"

The gang leader swung back around towards the teenage heroes, his face growing red with rage. "You! You tricked me! You were just stalling for—"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. The bombs reached the climax of their beeping symphony and exploded, taking the support beams of the building out with them. The walls began to shake, debris falling from the ceiling.

Kaldur spun around to face his teammates. "We need to get out of here before it collapses!"

"What about them!" Zatanna yelled back over the rumbling noise, pointing in the direction of the mob of thugs.

But when the team turned back to go help the gang, they were met with nothing but crumbling walls.

"Where'd they go?" M'gann asked before diving to the side to avoid a falling chunk of cement.

"Wally must have pulled them out already," Kaldur yelled back in reply as he helped her back on her feet.

"How could he do that?" Artemis asked disbelievingly, "Even with his speed, he couldn't have pulled them all out that fast, and I highly doubt that they would just willingly let him drag them away… one… one by… by one…"

Suddenly, the archer swooned, and Conner had to catch her before she hit the ground. But the Boy of Steel didn't look too good either, and he was soon on his knees as well.

"Con-Conner…" his girlfriend called out and tried to help him up, only to pass out next to him.

Zatanna was the next to crumple to her knees. "K-Kaldur," she said weakly, forcing her eyes to remain open, "Bombs… not…. not bombs. Fake." She pointed to the corner of the room, where Aqualad saw a buffeting cloud of smoke pouring out of a tiny machine. "Fake," she repeated, her eyes fluttering shut, "Robin's… sleep gas… explosion… just… a hallucina…tion…"

Kaldur forced his mind to focus and realized that he too had fallen to the ground, Raquel collapsed in his lap. He slapped her face lightly, trying to awaken her, but to no avail. He felt his own limbs grow heavier, as if an enormous weight had been dropped onto his shoulders. Collapsing to the ground beside his teammates, the last thing he remembered seeing was a shadow suddenly appear in front of him and a gloved hand grab him by the shoulders before pulling him off into the darkness…

* * *

**A/N: **So there you go! Thank you for taking your time to read, and be sure to leave a review!


	6. The First Crime Queen

**~Please read the Author's Note this time, even if you normally skip!~**

**A/N: **Hey guys! You all are just so awesome! Over 50 reviews! So, as a thank you for all the great and supportive comments, if this fic gets 100 reviews, I will write a one-shot YJ fanfic of your choice :) Just leave your suggestion for a topic in a review, and I will post them in the Author's Note of the next chapter. Then, you all can vote for one of the posted topics until this fic reaches 100 reviews.

This was this best way I could think to properly thank all of you, so I hope you'll offer you're suggestions and vote! But for now, enjoy the chapter :D

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**11:02 PM**

"Rocket? Rocket! Raquel, wake up!"

The dark-skinned girl slowly regained consciousness and cracked open her eyes to find Kaldur's deep grey ones staring down at her, filled with concern.

The Atlantian let out a breath in relief and then offered her his hand. "Good, you are awake. Are you injured? Can you stand?"

Raquel took his hand and sat up, letting out a groan as she began to take notice of the throbbing pain in her skull. She clutched her head then quickly checked her hand. "Well, my head feels like it was run over by a monster truck, but there's no blood, so I guess I'm alright."

He chuckled lightly and pulled her to her feet, holding her arm as she steadied herself. "Headaches are common after-effects of Robin's personal concoction of sleeping gas. Batgirl uses it as well, so I suppose I should have been better prepared for this. Forgive me."

Raquel just stared at him. "What? Sleeping gas? I thought I got knocked out by the collapsing build...ing..." Her voice drowned away as she finally took in their surroundings. They were in the middle of a filthy alleyway with no identifiable signs, stores, or aspects. It could've been any alley anywhere in Gotham. In one direction, the pathway was dimly lit by multiple street lamps hanging from the sides of the buildings. In the opposite direction, the alley was dark, with only a handful of lights to show the way. "Um, where the heck are we?" she finally asked, "Where's the building? And where are the others?"

"The building never collapsed," Kaldur replied, brushing the grime off his knees.

Rocket blinked, wondering if she had heard her leader correctly. "What? But Kid Flash set those bombs that-"

"-released Robin's sleeping gas, which he laces with a weak hallucinogen," Kaldur finished for her.

"So... where are we then? And the others?"

Kaldur gave a tired sigh. "Unfortunately, it seems my attempt at a peaceful solution was boring our gamesmasters," he replied with a twinge of annoyance in his voice, "And so they decided to make this a little harder for us by splitting us up."

Raquel's mouth dropped open. "They got _bored_? It hadn't even been a half hour yet!" She groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. "What kinda short-attention-spanned children are we dealing with here!"

Kaldur smiled dryly. "Sometimes I forget that, other than Wally and Roy, none of you have had to withstand the BatKids practical jokes before."

Rocket looked up from her hands and eyed him suspiciously. "The way you talk, Kal, it sounds as if you've already met Batgirl."

"That is because I have."

"What? But...before, you said—"

"I am one of the original sidekicks, Rocket. Is it really _that_ surprising that I would have met another of the original sidekicks?"

"Well, no, I guess that makes sense," Rocket replied, "But then... why are you doing this?"

"I have met her, but I still do not know her identity, and I know even less about Robin. I wish to understand my friend better, and this is the only way to get such information out of them. That is why I am doing this." Kaldur checked his watch. "It is already past eleven, and we are wasting time sitting here. Let us continue."

Raquel grumbled at his change in subject but quickly decided that he was right; they really did need to get moving. "Alright then, let's go this way," she suggested, pointing down the slightly more lit pathway, "After our last little encounter, I'm not so eager to run down a dark alley this time."

Kaldur smiled slightly. "I think that is a good idea."

* * *

"I told you we shoulda taken the darker alleyway!"

"You said nothing of a sort, Raquel," Kaldur grumbled back with an aggravated sigh. The two heroes had been maneuvering their way through Gotham's backstreets for nearly a half hour without any sign of the BatKids. "Perhaps we should go back to searching the rooftops."

"What? Why would they stay out there in the open if we're tryin' to find them? Really, try using your head, Kaldur!" They continued walking down the dank alleyway until they were halted by a fork in the road. "Go right. It's darker that way."

The Atlantian let out another shaky sigh, obviously losing patience. "Alright, we will go your way, _again_. Because your intuition has been _so _helpful so far."

"Was that _sarcasm_ I just heard, fish face?" Raquel fumed, picking up her pace to keep up with Kaldur's quickening steps, "Honestly, I get absolutely no respect! I might be the newbie here, but that don't mean I got no common sense. If you would just _trust me_, you'd see that my gut is usually righ—"

"It's a dead end, Rocket."

Snapping back to reality, Raquel found herself faced with nothing but brick and cement. "W-what? No, there's gotta be somewhere else here where they could be hiding…"

Another sigh from Aqualad. "Why will you not just except that you were wrong?"

"Because I wasn't _wrong_, Kaldur, we just must've missed something on the way here because you were too busy doubting me to pay attention to anything around you!"

"Rocket, stop—"

"No, I will _not_ stop! There has to be something…"

"Rocket, _please_ be quiet and listen to me."

Raquel stepped in front of him, eyes sharp as daggers. "You know what, Aqualad? I am really getting sick of this. I mean, look! You're not even paying attention to me right n—"

"Shh," Kaldur silenced his irritated teammate with a single digit pressed to her lips. And it did silence her, but for only a moment. She blinked her eyes a few times, surprised by the sudden contact, but her confused expression quickly shifted back to annoyance.

"_Oh_, now I'm being '_shh'_-ed?" she protested, lightly slapping his hand away from her, "First Supey calls me fat, then Rob and Kid knock me out, and now _this_? Honestly, what is _wrong_ with you boys tonight!"

"_Raquel,_" he hissed this time in an urgent whisper. Rocket snapped out of her vent and noticed the intense, prepared glare in her leader's eyes. He was focused on a dark corner of the dead end behind her, his eyes trained on some unapparent adversary.

"Well now, I _am_ impressed," crooned an enticing voice from the darkness, "It seems the Bats aren't the only superheroes with a sixth sense."

Raquel froze in place, slowly turning around and shuffling back to Kaldur's side. There was something about the woman's voice that bothered her. It was comforting like a lullaby, yet at the same time, threatening like the hiss of a viper.

But as always, Aqualad's composure did not falter. "Show yourself," he demanded, guard down but still prepared, "It is cowardly to mask your presence when engaging an opponent."

A soft chuckle sounded from amidst the shadows. "Masking my presence? Maybe you aren't quite Bat-level after all. But no matter. When a handsome hero wishes to see me that badly, how can a woman refuse?" A figure began to emerge from the endless darkness, emanating an emerald hue and cloaked in a fragrance of roses. Vines twisted around her ankles as sashayed across the cold, damp cement, and her brilliant crimson hair danced around her shoulders like the falling petals of a rose.

"Poison Ivy," Kaldur muttered under his breath, probably cursing his luck. Raquel couldn't blame him. One of the oldest and most dangerous crime queens of Gotham, and it just _had_ to be today that they cross paths with her.

The green-garnished villainess flashed him her most bewitching smile and stretched out her hand. "Did you come to Gotham to play, little fish?" she cooed as her vines roped down her outstretched arm and brushed against Kaldur's cheek like a pet cat, "C'mon, sweetheart. Dump the side dish and come have a little fun for once. Our last meeting ended so… _abruptly_, that we barely got to know each other."

The vine crept its way around Aqualad's body and gave him a slight tug, but hurriedly recoiled as an old plank of plywood suddenly smacked into the weed. "_Side dish? SIDE DISH?_" Raquel steamed, her makeshift weapon creaking under her death grip, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLIN' A SIDE DISH?" She was _not_ happy.

"Raquel, wait."

"What! What now? Why should I—wait a minute," Rocket thought for a moment before continuing, "Why didn't you use my codename in front of her?" Silently studying her teammate's face, she finally realized that he hadn't pulled away from that vine's grasp and would have happily let it envelop him if she hadn't smacked it away. His eyes looked somewhat glazed over, and he had a sort of distant expression plastered across his features. "Aqualad?" she tried to provoke a response with a firm tug on his arm.

His unfocused gaze remained on the villainess, and his limbs went slack. "Maybe," He mumbled out in monotone, "Maybe we can… talk this out."

"Kaldur, no, this isn't the time for your peace-keeping mumbo jumbo!" she hissed at him in frustration, masking the panic slowly building within her. There was definitely something wrong with him.

"Oooh, so your name's Kaldur then, little fish?" Poison Ivy asked with a seductive smile. With a flick of her wrist, a vine shot out from a crack in the concrete behind the heroine and wrapped itself around her ankles before yanking her feet out from under her.

Raquel gave a small yelp of surprise as she practically face-planted into the damp ground. "Kaldur!" she called out to her teammate as the vine wrapped its way around her body, constricting her breathing, "Don't just stand there, fish face! Help me!"

Stepping over her squirming captive, Ivy strutted over to the zoned-out hero and gave him a sly smile as she stroked his cheek endearingly. "You don't want to do that, right, Kaldur?" she purred softly.

"I… I don't want to… do that," he repeated, seemingly mesmerized by the woman before him.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Raquel roared from the floor, viciously throwing her weight in every direction as she attempted to free herself from the botanical ensnarement, "What did you do to him, Ivy!"

"Oh, he just came to his senses, is all, and realized that he _deserved_ to trade up."

"That's _it_!" Raquel choked out between labored breaths, "Let me… let me outta here right now, you stupid evil plant lady, and…and I'll take you out… hard and fast!"

The villainess seemed amused by her suggestion, and with another flick of her wrist, the vine that had been tightening its grip on Raquel's throat unraveled and slithered away. Raquel gasped in the dank night air, panting as she glared up at Poison Ivy.

"I suppose just killing you would be too boring," the crime queen scoffed at the panting girl before turning back to Aqualad and leaning in close. "Kaldur, dear," she hissed into his ear, "Be a good little fishy and take care of this… problem. And after that, it'll just be you, and me."

"As you wish," the Atlantian replied in monotone. Whipping out one of his water-bearers, a glowing blue sword emerged in his hand, which he pointed down at Raquel. "Stand and fight," he demanded.

Still down on her hands and knees, Raquel looked up at her leader before hanging her head with a groan. She pushed herself onto her feet and grabbed the plank of wood she had dropped. "This is _really_ not my night."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, and now that all my summer traveling is finally out of the way, I should have more time to write for you guys :) So **don't forget to leave your suggestions** for the one shot in a review so that I can write the best 'thank you' fic I possibly can! :DDD


	7. The Girl In Black

**A/N:** Hey guys! Soooo, I got _**a ton**_ of super supportive comments, and some very flattering ones as well. And since a lot are anonymous and others I just didn't get a chance to message, I want you to know that I have read and considered all of your comments and ideas and appreciate them more than I could ever explain :D And I know a lot of people were asking about Aqualad using his powers, but I promise that will be explained later :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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**11:10 PM**

"Uugghhh…what…what happened?" Conner groaned as he regained consciousness. Grunting with effort, he forced himself to sit up off the cold concrete beneath him and tried to take in his surroundings. But the sudden shift in posture caught up with him and a sharp jolt of pain shot through the Kryptonian's skull. He cried out in pain and clutched his throbbing head.

"Stupid collapsing building…" he half mumbled, half growled, "Everyone alright?" But even as the words left his mouth, Superboy realized that he was alone, and the cold wind beating against his numbed skin clearly pointed out the fact that he wasn't indoors anymore. A horizon of rooftops was stretched out before him, and he realized he was even higher up off the ground than the last time. Scrambling to his feet, Conner ran to the edge of the rooftop to search for the collapsed building he'd somehow been removed from. No such luck. He didn't recognize a thing.

"M'gann!" he called out into the night, "Kaldur? Artemis? Zatanna! Rocket!" No response.

His head was spinning, and he had to fight back the panic, the _rage_, that was starting to bubble up inside of him. _What did Robin do!_ he fumed mentally, _And Kid, he was the one who set those freaking BOMBS! And now the others are gone, and I have absolutely no freaking clue where I am!_

Taking deep breathes to control his anger the way Canary had taught him, Conner changed his focus to his new environment. It looked like the more run down part of Gotham, with buildings even more decrepit and streets even more lifeless than usual. Most windows were either broken or completely boarded up, and there were absolutely no lights on inside any building. As far as he could tell, no one had lived anywhere near here in ages.

_Why…would Robin have me left _here_?_ Connor frowned in thought. _What are they playing at? That is, if this is Robin's doing at all._

Suddenly, a scream resonated through the empty streets, shrill enough for Conner to hear even without his super-hearing. He had no idea how far away the source of the cry was or even if he could get there in time, but he was going to try. Taking off as fast as possible, Superboy raced across the rooftops. He was starting to understand how Wally felt whenever he had to do anything at normal speed; the Kryptonian felt like he was moving at the pace of a snail without his superspeed. It was almost agonizing, knowing that he could be running up to three times faster, but forced to remain in what seemed like slow-motion. But the cries for help continued to escalate in volume, and Conner knew he was getting close when he could hear the aggressor's voice as well.

Superboy had just stumbled his way onto another crumbling roof when he noticed that the voices were coming from below him. Running to the opposite side of the building and peering over the edge of the wall, he found the source of the noise. Two girls around his age were on the roof of the next building over, which was a good 15 feet shorter than all the other buildings around it for some reason. Both girls had long blonde hair, and from that height, the only difference Conner could see between the two was how they did their hair. One girl had a head full of golden curls, but the other's hair was perfectly straight and pulled back into a tight ponytail, a hairstyle that seemed oddly familiar…

And then it clicked. "Artemis!" he yelled out before he could even think to stop himself. Both girls whipped their heads around in his direction, clearly not expecting the random visitor. Without even a second thought, Conner leapt from his perch and landed sloppily behind the surprised girls, falling off his feet the moment they hit the concrete.

The Kryptonian lay sprawled out for a moment, groaning at his stupid move before recalling why he attempted it in the first place. "Artemis, I'm glad to see you," he called out to the closer blonde as he forced his himself to sit up and inspected his body for damage, "I heard screaming. Are you alr—"

The end of his question left unasked as he just barely managed to dodge a sudden glowing red laser beam. The attack shot straight into the concrete he had just vacated, leaving a deep crater in the material.

Superboy scrambled to his feet and finally got a good look at the situation, and immediately decided that he really needed to learn to look before he leaps, both figuratively and literally. He hadn't even played with the idea that another girl could have a similar hairstyle as one of his teammates'. And now he was regretting that, because the girl standing before him was definitely not Artemis, or even a hero for that matter.

This girl's hair _was_ pulled back in a ponytail, but it wasn't quite as long or poofy as his teammate's. She was taller and curvier, giving Conner the impression that she was closer to Kaldur or Roy's age than to anyone else's. And instead of green, she was dressed from head to toe in black leather and fishnets. The outfit reminded him somewhat of Black Canary's costume, and he was starting to see a trend in Gotham's super-fashions. But the most distinct feature about this girl was the high-tech goggles she was wearing, made up of a single lense that covered both of her eyes.

Conner shifted his gaze to the other blonde, who was cowering back against the wall, tears streaming from her terrified eyes. She was wearing a school uniform, Gotham Academy's, according to the patch on her jacket. He remembered Artemis once mentioning that all the rich families in Gotham send their kids there. _Maybe she's extorting money from her_, he analyzed.

"Hey, fancy feet!"

Superboy turned back just in time to see the attacker turn a dial on her goggles and fire another searing hot laser from them. Jumping to the side, he barely dodged the shot, and he heard it explode into the concrete behind him again.

The laser girl grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back on his feet until he was face to face with her. _She's a lot stronger than she looks_, he couldn't help but admit to himself.

"Butt out of this, kid," she snarled at him, her tone deadly, "This is _our_ business, and it has _nothing_ to do with you." She turned back to her victim with an icy smile, adjusting the switch on her goggles to high power. "Well, _ta-ta_, little girl. It's been a pleasure doing business with you, but you've become a liability. So consider your contract—" The goggles hummed as they reached maximum intensity. "—terminated."

But just as she fired, Superboy slammed into her with all his weight, shattering her focus and balance just enough to throw off the laser's aim. It just narrowly missed the other girl's head, but its impact was so strong that the wall behind her exploded and sent all three of them flying backwards.

"Uggghhh… Not my best plan," Superboy groaned as he pushed away a large chunk of debris and picked himself up off the ground, "The buildings in Gotham explode _way_ too easily."

"_YOU!"_

Conner spun around and was met with a fist to the face, with an angry leather-clad supervillainess in tow.

"OW!" he exclaimed as he hit the ground, "That hurt. Ugh, I _hate_ this depowered rule!"

The enraged girl took advantage of his moment of surprise and pinned him down by his wrists. "I told you to mind your own business!" she growled dangerously, her goggles humming as they prepared for another blast, "I guess I'll just have to _drill_ _it_ into that thick skull of yours!"

Conner was pretty sure she meant that literally, but he knew he didn't have time to panic. Putting all his weight into it, he threw himself at her and knocked her onto the ground. _I may not have my super-strength, but I still have a bigger build than her,_ he thought. He scrambled to his feet and turned around to help the school girl while her attacker was busy picking herself up. "Hey! Girl! Are you okay?" he yelled out, but there was no response. She wasn't there. _Impossible. We're surrounded by 15-foot walls! There's _no way_ she could've escaped._ Turning back to the wall she had been cornered against, he realized that the laser had entirely obliterated it and all that remained was a giant gaping hole. Guessing that she was hiding inside, he ran over to the building only to find that the floors had caved in and the staircase had collapsed, either from the blast or simply from disuse. _Well, if she didn't go this way, where did she— _

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shove from behind and his feet leaving the solid concrete. He was falling face first into that never-ending pit of a skyscraper. Throwing his body around, he managed to turn enough to grab onto the edge of the roof and keep himself from plummeting to the bottom.

"You see, this is what you get for trying to be a hero, kid." The leather-bound blonde kneeled down and adjusted the dial on her goggles until the humming was at its loudest. "I don't know who you are, but…" She jabbed a single gloved finger at the insignia on his chest. "—you're no Superman, kid, _that's_ for sure."

Conner gripped the concrete as tightly as possible, teeth grinding with the effort. _I sure hope the others are having better luck than me_.

* * *

**A/N:** That's all for now :) Hope you enjoyed!

Feel free to take a guess at who the laser girl is in a review! :D I might give you a little prize later if you guess right :)

And….. for that **'thank you' fanfic** I going to write you guys when I reach 100 reviews, I'm gonna give you guys a few pairing options to pick from, based on what you guys seem to have liked. **Pick one and tell me in a review or a message.**

A.) Rocket x Aqualad

B.) Batgirl x Robin

C.) Robin x Zatanna


	8. The Omnipotent Gamesmasters

**A/N:** Hey guys! I got a very overwhelming number of votes for the one shot, and the majority vote was for **Robin/Batgirl** :) I probably _should've _seen that coming, but I was still surprised by just how many people voted for it. The one-shot isn't done yet, but I'm at 1000 words, so I promise, it should be done soon!

Also, the second highest vote was for **Aqualad/Rocket**, and I thought you all might like to know that I've started writing a bit of an idea for a long-running romance fanfic for them. It probably won't start for awhile, maybe not til after _Long Nights_ is over, but I hope you all will keep an eye out for it :D

So, I know this was a particularly lengthy Author's Note, but thanks for reading it if you did :D And be sure to add me to your Author Alert if you're interested in reading these fanfics I plan on adding :) Well, enjoy!

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**10:52 PM**

"_OH MY FREAKING GOD SHE IS GOING TO KILL ME WHAT WAS I THINKING LISTENING TO YOU!"_

"Hey Wally," the two Bat-kids chimed in unison, turning around to watch the speedster pace back and forth at ten steps a second.

"Don't 'Hey Wally' me!" he roared, coming to a full stop and spinning around to glare at them, "You lied! Artemis knew it was me from the moment I got there! No matter how fast I moved, it wouldn't have made a difference!" He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "She is seriously going to _murder_ me."

"Yeah, like you haven't pulled pranks on her before," Robin scoffed before turning back to face the holoscreen, which was now split into four separate windows to keep an eye on the split-up Team. He swallowed a mouthful of popcorn from the bucket in his lap.

"Well, I've definitely never knocked her _unconscious _before!" he yelled out, flailing his arms in the air dramatically before stopping to consider his own statement, "Well… not on purpose anyway."

Barbara sighed. "Look Walls, if she tries to kill you for this, just blame us," she told him as she chowed down on her own bucket of buttery morsels, "Tell her that you thought it was just a bunch of noise makers or something. I mean, that's not even completely a lie."

"Oh, sure, 'cause she's totally gonna believe a stupid excuse like th— wait a minute, Babs, is that _my_ popcorn!"

The other redhead flashed him a mischievous smile and tauntingly popped another piece of his popcorn into her mouth. "_Maaayyybe_." She stole a glance at her partner and knew by his wide smirk they were on the same page: _Wally is WAY too easy to distract, especially with food._

The silent exchange went unnoticed by their freckled friend, who had already zoomed over and yanked the bucket from Barbara's hands. "And look, it's almost empty!" he whined loudly, staring brokenheartedly into the barren bowl. The Bat-kids grinned widely, trying to hold back their laughter as they watched their friend throw a tantrum over food like a four-year-old.

"_And he's supposedly two years older than us,_" Robin whispered so that only Batgirl could hear.

The speedster pulled his attention away from his poor ravaged popcorn tub and eyed the duo suspiciously. "What are you two giggling about _now_?" he asked slowly, as if he was afraid of setting off their dangerous imagination if he spoke too quickly.

"Oh, I was just telling Dicky how _lucky_ Artemis is to have a guy as, uh… _unique_ as you," Barbara managed to get out between chuckles, "I mean, seriously. How did I _ever_ let you get away?"

"Barbara, we only went on one date, like, three years ago. And it was because Dick decided to introduce us by setting us up on a blind date," he replied with a glare aimed at his best friend.

"Pffft_hahahaha_! Best idea of my entire life!" the Boy Wonder broke into laughter, laying back down on the roof and tossing popcorn into his mouth.

Wally didn't look quite so amused. "It ended with me beat up, pushed off a roof, and hanging from a streetlight until Uncle Barry showed up!" he yelled out, arms flailing around again, "And _then_ he proceeded to laugh his ass off and take a boatload of incriminating photos that I finally managed to completely dispose of only just last month!"

Barbara just giggled. "Awww, that's so cute."

"What is?" the speedster growled, both annoyed and confused.

"The fact that you think you managed to destroy all those pictures," Robin chimed in, the grin never leaving his face, "Do you _really_ think we would've let you throw away all those precious memories of that eventful and magical night?"

"Yeah, seriously, Wally. Have you _met_ us?"

An expression of pure horror stretched across Wally's face as the realization set in. "…what."

"Yeppp," Barbara told him with an overly cheerful smile, "I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to sneak those beautiful memories into Artemis's locker."

"WHAT!"

"Relax, freshness. I doubt Artie will be mad about one little date," Dick assured him with feigned innocence, "Plus, you already got your revenge by setting _me_ and Babs up, remember?"

"Which _also_ ended with me getting beat up, pushed off a roof, and left hanging from _a freakin' street light_!"

"You know, Wally, if you keep yelling like that, Artemis might wake up and hear you. She isn't that far away, after all."

The speedster was ready to pounce on the frustrating duo, but decided against it. _She isn't wrong,_ he thought with an aggravated sigh, _I'll just have to deal with them later._

"You _did_ take her where I told you to, _right_?" Barbara continued, the startings of a mini Bat-glare forming on her features.

"Of course! It took us _ages_ to carry the entire Team to all those random spots you chose. You're lucky we have superspeed."

Robin snorted at the speedster's complaints. "_You're_ just lucky that Babs reeled in some extra help so that _you_ didn't have to carry Superboy."

"Yeah, actually, I am very thankful for that one," Wally replied with a dry laugh as he took his seat beside Barbara, "Kaldur was heavy enough."

"Speaking of which," Babs said, turning her attention back to the holoscreen, "It looks like both of our big boys are up."

The other two looked back up at the screen to see both Aqualad and Superboy clutching their heads from the aftereffect of Robin and Batgirl's knockout gas.

"How did Kaldur not see this coming?" Wally asked as he proceeded to shovel some of the remaining popcorn into his mouth.

"He's probably kicking himself over it right now," Dick replied calmly, but froze when he heard a scream come from somewhere off-screen, "Wait, isn't Superboy in Old Gotham? There shouldn't even be that many crooks or gangs around there; the buildings are too unstable for them to hideout in."

Barbara stole another piece of popcorn from Wally's tub, much to the speedster's chagrin. "Yeah, so?"

"_So_, why did I just hear some girl scream in the background?"

"Maybe… we should go check and make sure he's okay?" Wally suggested. He had learned a long time ago that if the Boy Wonder is worried about something, everyone else should be panicking.

"Nah, he'll be fine," Batgirl replied dismissively, marking the end of the discussion.

The boys shared a brief look of defeat behind her back; they both knew all too well that when Barbara decides a conversation is over, it _is_ over. They could only hope that she knew what she was doing.

On the screen next to that of Superboy, Aqualad had seemingly recovered from his monster of a migraine and was now kneeling at Rocket's side.

"Hey you guys, what's the deal with those two?" Barbara asked as she studied the screen, "I mean, that Rocket girl's _clearly_ got the hots for Kaldur, but is it unrequited?"

Robin and Kid Flash looked at each other and then back at their female companion, their expressions totally blank. "Umm… what are you talking about?"

"Yeah, where did you get _that_ idea from?"

Barbara gave another sigh. "Are you seriously telling me that you work with these people every day and never noticed?" she scoffed with a roll of her eyes, "Ugh. _Boys_."

Wally blinked at her. "Wait… seriously?"

"Well, I _guess_ I can see that, now that you mention it…" Dick mumbled, now studying the awakened Rocket's movements.

"You guys are so useless as gossips when it comes to romance," Barbara chuckled, "No wonder I never find out about all these superhero couples until after they've been dating for a year."

Robin gave a gasp of exaggerated dismay. "Hey! I'll have you know that we figured out that Superboy and Miss M were dating in less than a week!" He paused, turning to look at Wally and laughing, "Well, me and _Kaldur_ did anyway."

"Oh shut up and watch the stupid floating screen," Wally mumbled indignantly, hoping to drop this topic as fast as possible, "It looks like everyone's awake, and they've _already_ gotten themselves in trouble."

Dick looked back at the screen and instantly broke down laughing. "I gotta hand it to Artemis, I would never have thought of fighting off a pack of angry cats with a fire extinguisher!"

"That's probably because it only makes them even angrier," Barbara said, grinning ear to ear. The livid yowls of cats erupted from the screen, making Wally flinch and nearly fall off the roof. "See?"

"Oooooh, poor Megan!" Wally winced as he watched the green girl run for her life on the screen next to the one of Artemis, "She sure has some bad luck to run into _that_ lunatic." His gaze shifted back to the camera following Aqualad and Rocket. "Hey… did Kaldur just use his powers? How—"

"It's fine," the Bat-kids replied in unison.

_Oh, _yay_. They're back on the creepy talking-at-the-same-time thing,_ Wally thought to himself. "But I thought you said—"

"It's all part of the plan, Rudolph," Barbara said with a wink, "Just relax."

The speedster winced at the sound of his old pet name that Barbara was still so fond of. "Ugh, don't start calling me that again. There's a reason I don't tell anyone my middle name, you know!"

"Well, then just shut up and watch already," she retorted, scooping up the last few pieces of popcorn in his bucket and slowly eating one at a time, "_This_ is where things get interesting."

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**A/N:** That's it for now, guys. If it seemed like a filler chapter, that's because it kind of was. I wanted to give you all _something_, but I needed a bit more time to work on the next chapter as well as the one shot, and I know quite a few of you wanted to see a bit more of the BatKids. So, sorry if it isn't up to par with the other chapters, I just figured that this hiatus is probably killing you all as much as it's killing me and that you'd be happy to have SOMETHING YJ related :) Anyway, don't forget to fave, follow, and review!


	9. The Other Crime Queens

**A/N:** Hey guys! I am sooo sorry this took so long! Also, if you didn't already know, **the one-shot is up.** I uploaded it a couple weeks ago, but shortly after that, my computer caught a virus and started to slowly die. I managed to get all my files off of it thankfully, so I didn't have to restart any works in progress, but I wasn't able to work on anything for the past couple weeks really. But anyway, I've got a new, _working_ laptop, so the next chapter should be out a lot sooner ;) I hope you enjoy the chapter! :)

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"So, you're telling me that _your_ stupid boyfriend concocted some hallucinating sleeping gas, and then passed it off to _my_ stupid boyfriend, who then proceeded to place it all around us and knock us unconscious? And then, _your_ stupid boyfriend had _my_ stupid boyfriend drag us randomly across the city and just leave us here to fend for ourselves?"

"Well, look at the bright side," Zatanna laughed dryly, "At least they had the decency to leave us in pairs."

Artemis scoffed audibly at her friend's optimism. "_Zee_, they just pretended to collapse a building _on_ _top of us_. There is nothing 'decent' about this!" Artemis kicked an old beer can out of her way, sending it flying. "They're definitely plotting something."

"Oh come on, Artemis, don't you think you're being a little paranoid?" the dark haired magician asked as she followed her friend across the filthy rooftop.

"How can I not when our own boyfriends just knocked us out cold!" A firm kick sent another empty can flying off the edge of the building. "Seriously, Zee. Who knows what they've got planned for us."

The magician didn't reply, knowing that Artemis was probably right. The archer's paranoia was not unfounded, and out of all the members of the team, Zatanna knew that Artemis probably had the closest mindset to Robin and Batgirl due to growing up in the same city. "This isn't the first time you've had to hunt someone down in Gotham, right?" she asked her friend, carefully choosing her words so that she wouldn't hit a raw nerve, "Could we use the same tactics you used then to find Batgirl?"

The blonde twitched at the mention of her 'upbringing', but quickly shook the memory away and leapt to the next rooftop. "It's not that simple," she told her friend after she'd followed her across the gap. "Before, the people I hunted down were usually just crooks and villains that owed my dad money. They usually just hung out in a single part of town and had no clue that I was coming. But this is the apprentice of the Bat we're talking about here; Robin's equal. My tactics hold absolutely no water to that duo's." There was a loud clang as Artemis kicked another can out of her path.

Zatanna's eyes followed the metallic trash as it skidded across the grime-covered concrete. "Are there just a lot of beer cans up here, or have you been kicking the same one over and over?"

"A lot of people come up here for a quick drink or smoke during work. Most Gothamers don't really care about littering, so..." She paused to smack another can off the roof, "I get a free game of kick-the-can..."—another can shot into the air and landed on the next building—"...with an unlimited supply of kicks and cans."

"Artemis…"—her words are interrupted by the echoing sound of clanging metal as the another can bounces away—"…you should probably stop…"—_clang!_—"…doing that."

"Huh?"—_clang!_—"Why?"

"Well, for one thing…"—_clang!_—"…_anyone_ can hear us coming, including Batgirl _and_ all those baddies we're trying to avoid." _Clang!_ "And _also_, you might—" Artemis kicked one last can onto the next rooftop, and a sharp yowl suddenly pierced the night air. "—hit something."

"Heheh… oops…" the archer laughed awkwardly, "Poor dog."

"Actually, that sounded more like a cat," Zatanna replied as she crossed the gap between the two buildings, wondering where exactly the animal had been, and how it got way up on the roof. Suddenly, Zatanna noticed that Artemis had stopped walking, and she turned around to find her friend frozen in place, her eyes round and panicked.

"A…a cat? Are you sure?" was all she said.

"Um… yeah," the confused magician answered, "That yelp of pain was pretty distinctly feline."

Artemis groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "Oh no. Oh _no no no nooo._" She looked back up at her now concerned companion and started walking three times faster than before. "We should really get out of here, just to be on the safe side."

"Just to be on the safe side? Why? Just because you're not a cat person?"

The archer opened her mouth to reply but froze again when she heard the loud mewl of a cat coming their way. "I'll explain later, but for now, we _really_ need to get outta here before—"

"Aww, leaving so soon?" a feminine voice purred out from the ledge of the next-door building, which stretched two or three stories higher than the roof they currently stood on, "And I was so happy to finally have a few more _female_ heroes to play tag with."

"_Shit_," Artemis cursed under her breath, "Too late."

A dark figure leapt from the higher building and gracefully landed on the ledge opposite the two young heroines. "So, a little kitty told me that you threw trash at her and almost knocked her off the roof," the leather-clad woman asked in a low tone, pulling out her whip with a sharp crack that made the girls flinch, "So _I'm _here to give her a little _justice_."

Zatanna's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no. Is… is that…?"

"—Catwoman!" Artemis called out to the villainess with a nervous laugh and a forced smile, "Hey, I don't know if you remember me, but you worked with my parents once or twice when I was little."

Zatanna threw her friend a look of bewilderment. "You're catching up with old family friends _now_?" she whispered urgently.

"If it distracts her from _maiming_ us, then _yes,_" she hissed back.

Catwoman squinted her eyes as she studied the archer in front of her. "Oooh, you must be Sportsmaster's youngest brat, right? Yeah, I worked with your parents a bit. Until you're _dad_ decided to split the pay by splitting my _skull_."

"Oh. Uh, haha, well…" Artemis chuckled nervously, shuffling her feet around a couple of empty cans and bottles. Then, as fast as her training would allow her, she suddenly gave one bottle a solid kick and sent it flying at the feline villain. "_Run!"_ she yelled at Zatanna as she took off in the direction they had just come from.

Zatanna definitely didn't need to be told twice. She followed her friend away from the distracted villainess without argument, not even turning around at the sound of her angry cry. She saw the tip of Artemis's ponytail disappear around a corner, but as she rounded the bend herself, she was met by an empty rooftop.

"Artemis?" she called out in a hushed tone hurrying over to the opposite edge of the roof. Then, all of a sudden, she felt something grab her ankle and yank her off the side of the building. But instead of falling to her death, she was quickly pulled back to safety on a ledge just below the edge of the roof. The magician swung around expecting to find Catwoman, but released a breath of relief as she came face to face with the emerald-clothed archer instead. "Why is it that whenever the two of us go out for a night on the town, we end up getting chased across the rooftops by some crazy villain?"

"Life of a superheroine, I guess," Artemis laughed weakly, peering up over the ledge, "But wherever we go _next_ time, let's just make sure there aren't any cats around… or plants… or, anything clown or bird related…"

The ever-growing list of things to avoid in Gotham was beginning to worry Zatanna, but she decided it was better to focus on the current problem at hand. "So, what do we do now?"

Artemis just shook her head and gave a heavy sigh. "For now, nothing. We wait here and hope the kitty cat gets bored of searching for her prey." She sank back down and rested her head against the wall. "Sorry Zee. I should've listened to you. That was really stupid of me. Only an idiot would mess with any type of feline creature in Gotham."

"Is that another one of those 'rules' that everyone in Gotham knows?" Zatanna whispered in case Catwoman was nearby.

"Well, it's more of a villain's 'rule of thumb' than a Gothamer's. We were always told to keep our distance from her when I was a kid."

"Why? Is she really that dangerous?"

"No," Artemis paused, trying to think of the words, "The problem is that she's fickle. Catwoman is a kleptomaniac rather than an egomaniac; she'd rather steal jewels for the rest of her life than take over the world for even a day. Plus, she supposedly has an on/off romantic relationship with Batman. So a lot of villains consider her a traitor, and traitors were far too 'dangerous' to let near us young, up-and-coming supervillains because she might've 'infected' our minds or something."

"Batman's girlfriend… is a _supervillain_?" Zatanna asked incredulously. She couldn't understand why someone so devoted to justice would date one of his own arch-enemies.

"Well, judging by her sour reaction, I'd say she's Batman's _ex_-girlfriend at the moment, which is definitely not gonna help us in any way."

"_Mew."_

The girls froze and turned slowly to their right, silently praying that it wasn't what they thought it was.

"_Meoow."_

A brown tabby was sitting on the ledge beside them, its tail swishing side to side as it stared them down with sharp green eyes.

"Oh, crap," Artemis said quietly, her eyes never leaving the creature, "So much for waiting out her patience."

"_Meeeoooww._"

"What do we do, Artemis? This cat's calls are getting louder and louder."

"We'd better make a break for it while we still can," Artemis replied as she swiftly hoisted herself back onto the roof, closely followed by Zatanna and—much to their annoyance—the cat as well.

"_Meeeooooooowwww."_

"Shhhh!" Artemis hushed at the animal, "Shut _up_, you stupid hairball!"

"I'm no cat whisperer, but I'm pretty sure insulting it isn't going to help much."

"You're right."

They spun around to see Catwoman slowly walking their way, like a cat stalking its prey. Behind her protruded an enormous mob of cats, large enough to consist of every alley cat in Gotham.

"I would run now, children," she said with a loud hiss, followed by the echo of her pets' hissing.

But the advice was highly unnecessary, as the girls had already high-tailed it out of there before they could even hear the end of that sentence. They ran as fast as they could, but looking back, they could see the gaggle of creatures and their owner right on their heels.

"Artemis, we need weapons!" Zatanna yelled over the screeches of their pursuers.

"No kidding!" the archer yelled back, "But what do you expect _me_ to do about it? Robin took all of my weapons, remember!"

"Then you make do with whatever you can find! You grew up on these streets, and you know better than anyone how to survive in this city! Your dad must have taught you _something_ about finding makeshift tools!"

The archer groaned as she leapt to the next building; she knew Zatanna was right, but she had always hated being caught off-guard and thus never went anywhere without a weapon. And because of that, she had never really given the ultimate survival lessons much thought. But a quick scan of the roof immediately provided her with an answer, and Artemis dove at an old discarded fire extinguisher hidden in the dark corner of the roof. She snatched the red device up off the cement, pulled out the metal ring pin, and aimed the rubber tube at the oncoming attackers.

"Alright, furballs, it's time to cool you off!" She pulled the trigger and a strong stream of white foam shot from the nozzle, slamming into the cats as they reeled back with a shocked screech. A grin stretched across Artemis's face, and continued to spray the villain and her wall of claw-happy cats with a maniacal laugh. "Ha! Ha, ha, HA! How you like _that_ shower, you stupid mongrels!"

Suddenly, the extinguisher began to hiss, and the steady spray dropped down to random spurts of foam as the device began to cough out the small remainder of its innards. Artemis looked from the empty canister in her hands to the angry foam-covered cats glaring at her from behind their livid mistress. "Uh oh."

Catwoman shook the white fluff from her arm in disgust, and threw the girls a glare so terrifying that Zatanna no longer questioned the idea of this woman dating the Dark Knight. Sharp claws shot out of the villainess's fingertips, and her lip was curled up in a deep snarl. No words left her mouth, only feral growling. And that was the two heroines' cue to run once more.

"Wow! Lame banter, _and_ a useless attack," Catwoman taunted angrily, already hot on their trail, "Come on, little girl, you're just making things worse for yourself! What kind of hero are you?"

"I. HATE. _CATS_!" Artemis roared into the open air.

"Yeah, well, I'm starting to not be such a big fan of them myself!" Zatanna huffed between gasps for air.

They rounded a bend and leapt to the next building, but were forced to skid to an ungraceful stop as they noticed the angry mob of foam-coated cats balanced on the surrounding ledges. Spinning around, the girls tried to go a different direction, but it was too late: they were already surrounded by the villainess's pets.

"Nowhere to run, girls," Catwoman snarled dangerously, "End of the road."

"_HEEELLLLPPPPP!"_

The unexpected scream caught everyone's attention, and they all immediately turned around to look. Just a few rooftops away, a green-skinned girl was running for her life as a cackling clown repeatedly slammed a giant mallet down behind her, just inches away from crushing her to death.

"HEEHEEHEE AHAHAHAHA! Come _baaack, _Greenie! I wanna _plaaaay_!"

"AAAAHHHH STAY AWAY FROM MEEEE!"

"Oh great," Catwoman scoffed with a roll of her narrow eyes, "Always with the bad timing, Harles."

Miss Martian scrambled across the rooftops until she reached her fellow heroes and latched onto Artemis with an incredible grip. "Artemissss, help! She keeps following me, and I didn't even do anything!"

Artemis patted her frantic friend comfortingly, but was obviously distracted by her attacker. "Aunt Harley?" she asked the clown girl.

If Harley Quinn heard her, she ignored the girl and enveloped her fellow crime queen in big hug. "Kitty!" she giggled happily, "Did ya know that you're covered in foam? I thought cats hated baths?"

Catwoman pulled herself out of the clown's embrace and pointed at the hero trio. "Help me put these brats in their place, and I'll explain everything when we're done."

Harley eyed the kids and smirked mischievously, her eyes visibly glowing with excitement. "Oooo sounds like _fun_!"

The three girls backed away nervously, Zatanna quickly understanding why the clown had freaked M'gann out so much.

"Oh yeah, _so _much fun,"Artemis grumbled under her breath before bracing herself for a long, _long_ fight, "Man, I really hate this city sometimes."

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**A/N:** That's all :) Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but I'll try to get the next chapter out a lot sooner. I also plan on uploading some new fanfics soon, so be sure to check for those!

And once again, the **'thank you' one-shot** _has _been uploaded, so be sure to check it out :D

Don't forget to fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed!

**EDIT:** I forgot to mention before that I got the idea of Artemis knowing Harley Quinn from one of Inner Mind Theater's youtube vids :) If you haven't seen any of their stuff, you should seriously check it out :DDD


	10. The First Crime Queen 2

**A/N:** Hey guys! So, as promised, I got this chapter out a lot faster than the last one :D But it _is_ 2 AM right now, so I am so sorry if there are a lot of grammatical errors :P As always, thank you guys for your continued support, and I hope you can bear with me and my future slow updating, as I'm about to start my first year of college and I have no idea how much free time I'll have. But I'll do my best! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter :)

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**11:43 PM**

"Aqualad! Cut it out!" Rocket dove to the side, just narrowly escaping the Atlantian's glowing sword as he swung down at her head. "Ok, I didn't mean that _literally_!"

"You are a nuisance to my mistress, and so must be disposed of!" the entranced Kaldur roared as he lunged at his teammate once more.

"Rocket flipped straight over his head as he charged. Smoothly landing behind him, she planted a hard kick into his back and sent him tumbling across the cement. "I always _did_ say I'd kick your ass in a real fight!" she jibed, but then admitted to herself, _But I never thought I'd actually be able to._ _Why is he so weak? And how is he even able to use his powers?_ While Kaldur was still busy picking himself up off the ground, Rocket turned her attention to the wicked villainess who was simply lounging on a leafy makeshift throne. "What did you do to him, Poison Ivy?"

"You must be new here," the villainess replied in a bored drawl, studying her nails unenthusiastically, "Controlling men is kind of my thing, dear. Ask anyone."

Patience quickly slipping, Rocket lunged at the frustrating woman, but was cut short by nearly two-hundred pounds of Atlantian mass slamming into her side. The air left her lungs all at once, and being sent flying across the ally into the opposing brick wall didn't help much, either. Before she could regain her bearings once more or even so much as gasp for air, she was thrown back to the ground under Kaldur's weight, her wrists pinned down by webbed hands.

"I gotta admit, big guy," she gasped in air as she tried to wiggle herself free of his grasp, "I'd be kinda turned on by this if you weren't trying to slash my throat open." She still had no idea how he was using his powers, but she knew better than to ask Ivy. There was a very strong chance that the wretched witch of a woman had nothing to do with it, and asking her about it would do nothing more than reveal her current weakened state.

"Your feelings for me mean nothing, girl! _You_ mean nothing! Only my mistress matters!"

_Ouch. _That_ stung a bit._ Rocket couldn't help but feel the bite of that remark. Mind-control or not, she planned on holding that one against him later. Well… later… and _now._ Using the unusually angry Atlantian's momentary slip of focus to her own advantage, she slipped her legs free from his weight, and slammed the soles of her shoes hard into his stomach. This time, it was _his_ turn to have the wind knocked out of him. His body went slack as he doubled over, releasing his grip on her wrists to clutch his aching abdomen.

"Sorry Kal, I like it rough, but you gonna have to buy me dinner first!" She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction as she watched her leader struggle to come up with some sort of response. _I don't care what anyone else says, _she thought to herself with a grin,_ I've got this heroic banter stuff _down.

"My mistress, please wait just a moment longer while I finish off this delusional imbecile," Kaldur said to the crime queen without taking his glare off of Rocket. Quickly scooping up his discarded water bearer, the glowing sword that had retracted during their short grappling match reformed in his hand.

"Of course, my sweet," Ivy drawled out in her obviously practiced seductive tone, "Take all the time you n—"

Her response suddenly stopped short as something grabbed her attention. Noticing her intent glance at the rooftops, Rocket looked up to scan the area for whatever had distracted the villainess. That's when she saw a small silhouette balancing on the ledge as it raced across the buildings, but her slim hope of it being backup crumbled as she heard a faint mewl resonate off the walls. The cat came to a stop, sitting down on the edge of the skyscraper and letting out another long meow. It was just a stupid cat, but Rocket couldn't shake the feeling that it was staring right at them.

"Actually," Poison Ivy continued so suddenly that it made Rocket jump, "It looks like I'll have to finish playing with you two later."

"Wha—but why, mistress?" the lovesick Kaldur asked, his voice desperate, "I thought—"

Ivy stood from her green throne as it shrunk back into the earth, sauntering over to his side and delicately taking his free hand in her own. She kissed it lightly and pressed her cheek against his palm, snickering slightly as she watched Rocket bristle with rage. Kaldur's eyes hazed over and his glowing weapon evaporated once more.

"Hush, little fish. I am sure we will meet again soon," the green woman cooed. Stepping back slowly, she seemed to melt into the shadows until she was gone. She vanished just as suddenly as she had appeared, leaving the two young heroes alone once more.

Rocket looked back up at the rooftop and noticed that the cat had vanished as well. But before she could really contemplate the connection between the animal and Poison Ivy, Kaldur's legs suddenly gave out from under him and he collapsed to his knees.

"Kaldur!" Rocket yelled, running over and kneeling in front of him, "Kal, are you alright?" For one terrible moment, the thought that Ivy may have poisoned him with her toxins seemed all too likely, and Rocket could feel the panic beginning to rise in the back of her throat. "Kaldur?" she almost whispered, finding herself in one of those rare moments when she had trouble speaking.

But when he lifted his head and her worried gaze was met by the kind eyes she was accustomed to, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"R-Raquel?" he groaned, clutching his head as he sat down, "What… what happened?"

All the worry and concern left Raquel in a heartbeat and was quickly replaced by a wave of annoyance and frustration. "'What happened?'" she repeated through grinding teeth, voice growing louder with every syllable, "'WHAT _HAPPENED?_' Ooohh, I don't knooww. It's not like you just tried to CUT OFF MY _HEAD_ OR ANYTHING!"

Far too accustomed to her temper and habit of yelling, Kaldur didn't so much as flinch as Rocket screamed accusations at him. The actual accusations, on the other hand, _did_ concern him. "I… what? I suppose… I suppose I did…" He rubbed his temples vigorously, trying to clear his mind. "I… I am having trouble recalling it all, as if the memory is hidden by a thick fog. But…" His brows furrowed in concentration as he forced himself to work through the muddled memories. "I do remember pieces here and there. I am sorry, Raquel. I was not in control of my own actions."

"Better not have been in control of your own words, either," she grumbled to herself as she stood up and pulled Kaldur to his feet.

He blinked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Nevermind, it doesn't matter" she brushed the topic off, but the chill in her tone contradicted her words. She turned to walk back down the way they'd come before adding loud and clear for him to hear, "Because apparently, _I_ don't matter."

Kaldur just stared after her as she walked away, but then gave a tired sigh. "I have a feeling that this is not the end of this conversation," he said to himself before following his teammate.

"_Oh_, you have _no_ idea," she replied with a small smirk, "But we're on a time limit, so I'll let you off the hook. For now."

"It would be nice to know why exactly I am on the hook to begin with, but you are right," he replied once he had caught up, "But… I do have one question…"

Raquel turned and gave him a look. "Boy, do you _really_ wanna question me right now? I'm _already_ gonna kick your ass again later, don't make me do it again right now."

"No, no, that is not what I meant. It's just… why did I pull out my water bearer?"

Raquel froze in her tracks and rounded on the Atlantian, a new wave of anger surging through her. "Well a better question would be, why do you even _have_ your water bearers in the first place!" she interrogated, jabbing a finger into his chest accusingly, "Robin practically strip-searched Artie! How did _you_ get away with bringing a weapon?"

Raquel was so up in his face that Kaldur was forced to lean back in order to regain some of his personal space. Patient as ever, or at least as patient as he could be with Rocket, he placed a hand on hers and lowered it away so that she couldn't jab him anymore. "I only brought them because Robin told me to," he replied calmly.

"HE _WHAT!_"

The sudden increase in pitch made Aqualad flinch, but he fought off the urge to ask her not to yell. After all, he had just tried to murder her a moment ago; in his mind, she had every right to be so high-strung right now. "He asked me to bring my weapons, just in case we could not handle the task," he explained, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her back an inch, "My powers are what make my water bearers into weapons, so I am still following the 'no weapon' rule so long as my inhibitor band is still in effect. However, if an emergency was to arise and were forced to give up, Robin wanted to make sure that I could effectively lead the team to safety. And for that, I require my weapons."

Raquel opened her mouth to argue, but after a brief hesitation, seemed to decide against it and instead gave an aggravated sigh. "I guess that makes sense… but what _doesn't _make sense is how you were able to use your powers just now."

"Yes, that was my next question," Kaldur agreed, starting to walk once more, "My memory is still very fuzzy, so I was not sure if I was remembering that part correctly."

"Can you still use them?" she asked as she matched his pace.

Kaldur looked down at the bearer clutched in his hand and attempted to form something. "No. My magic is gone again. I need you to tell me exactly what happened before I used my magic. It could be important information to understanding how it happened."

"Alright, umm… let's see… you suddenly went all goo-goo over that green hag, and then you said you'd kill me and _poof_!, out came your magic swordy thing and you spent the next quarter of an hour trying to slice my head off."

"Which I already apologized for," Kaldur said with wavering patience, "Please, Raquel, _focus_. I need specifics."

"Look, I would tell you more if I could, but that's what happened. You fell under her trance, she got really close and touched you, and then suddenly you were all 'MY MISSSTRESSSSSS!'" she told him, dropping her tone as deep as she could when she mocked his voice.

Kaldur frowned. "I do not sound like that."

"Close enough," she snickered.

"_Any_way," Kaldur refocused on their discussion rather than digressing, "What happened right before she disappeared?"

"I saw a cat."

Kaldur gave her a tired look. "You saw a cat."

"Yes, I saw a cat, and I _swear_ it was staring at us."

Kaldur pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Alright. Alright, that _could_ possibly be relevant," he said mostly to himself in attempt to remain calm and hopeful, "What else?"

"Ivy touched you again and then disappeared into the shadows. And then you collapsed. That's all."

"Alright, well, it is not enough to assume anything yet. She may have had something to do with my powers coming back, but it could have simply been her toxins interfering with my inhibitor band. Robin _did_ say that he just made these last night, so they could easily have some problems." He thought about it for a moment before continuing. "But that doesn't explain why yours didn't malfunction."

"Even if it had, we wouldn't have noticed a difference."

Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because my powers aren't from some freak accident or mysterious genealogy. They come from that belt I always wear. Icon designed it using a piece of his spaceship or something."

"I… did not know that. Obviously, Robin did not know either, otherwise he would have given you a band like Artemis's."

"Yeah, well, I don't tell that many people, even those closest to me," she explained with a smirk, "You should feel honored."

Kaldur chuckled, and the pair walked in silence for a short time until Rocket noticed that he was smiling to himself still.

"What are you thinking about, big guy?" she asked, trying to make a bit of small talk before their silence became awkward.

"I happened to notice that you stopped insisting on the existence of some secret passageway hidden in the dead-end and simply went back the way we came."

"So?"

"_So_, you finally admitted that you were wrong. That is a very big thing," he said with a humored smile, "At least, for _you_ it is."

"_Excuse_ me? What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Raquel scoffed, crossing her arms huffily, "For your information, fish face, I was _not _wrong. In fact, Poison Ivy's sudden appearance and disappearance into the dark corners of those walls are proof that there really was a way to continue on."

"Oh, really," Kaldur replied dryly, "Then why did you not go _that_ direction?"

"_Because,_ that's the direction that evil plant lady went, and I don't want to run into her again," Raquel huffed with a roll of her eyes as if it were the most obvious reason ever, "I just got through rescuing you from Ivy's grip, and I don't really feel like kicking your ass again just yet."

Kaldur chuckled slightly. "Very well," he told her, but after taking a moment to ponder what she had said, he added, "What do you mean by kicking my ass _again_?"

"Oh, honestly Kal, keep up! We already went over this: you went nuts, attacked me, I kicked your butt, and Ivy took off running for some unknown reason. Where is the confusing part?"

"Well, you seem to think that you were winning our little fight back there," he started with a small smile, "But from what I can recall, I believe _I _had the upper hand."

"Only because you had your weapon," she replied indignantly.

"So did you."

"It was a freaking plank of rotting wood! You cut it in half in the first millisecond! You had an unbreakable magic sword, remember?"

"Which I believe I only used for the first half of the fight…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. I'm just a '_delusional imbecile'_. Of _course_ the fish head with partial-amnesia has a more reliable memory than me. What _was_ I thinking?"

"…perhaps I should just stop talking now."

"Oh, ya think?"

There was another moment of silence between the two before Kaldur broke it once more. "Did I… really call you a delusional imbecile?"

"Yeah, it seems your already-fancy vocabulary really kicks up a notch when you're crazy in love," Raquel joked, though there was still annoyance in her tone.

"I did not mean it," Kaldur told her seriously, "Truly, I did not."

"Whatever," she replied simply, picking up her pace so that she was leading the way once more, "I'm still going to hold this against you for a very long time."

"I'm sure you will," Kaldur sighed again, a small smile playing on his lips. He had met many people in his lifetime, but no one knew how to push his buttons quite as well as Raquel. "I hope the others are not having as much trouble as we are."

"We're superheroes, Kal. We're all magnets for trouble."

"For once, Raquel, we are in complete agreement."

* * *

**A/N:** That's all for now, folks! :D Hope you like it, and don't forget to fave, follow, and leave a review! I always love hearing from you guys :)

**Next Chapter:** Superboy and his mysterious enemy! And I wanna remind you that if you guess correctly on who the laser girl is BEFORE the reveal of her identity, I will write you a fanfic of your choice (ie. Your fave pairing, your fave character, a specific plot or idea, etc. etc.). Just know that I wont tell you if you were right until after I reveal it in the fic cuz I don't want to spoil the surprise ;)


	11. The Orders

**A/N:** Hey guys! Is everyone excited for YJ to start back up at the end of the month? Cuz I know I am :DDD Anyway, I kinda accidentally lied in the A/N at the end of the last chapter, cuz I said this was focused on Superboy and the laser girl. And it still kinda is, but this just turned out to be a better order to tell the story in.

But for those of you who are waiting for more clues about the laser girl so that you can guess, I dropped quite a few hints here, so read with a sharp eye ;) Good luck!

* * *

**12:52 AM**

"Kaldur, we've been walking for ages, and we haven't seen or heard a thing. Not even your basic crooks. Where the heck are we?"

"I am not sure," Aqualad admitted, studying the decrepit buildings as they made their way through the garbage filled alleys, "And you are right. We have not come across any crime or suspicious activity since we entered this area, and for Gotham, that is nearly impossible."

"Maybe this is like the 'ghost town' part of Gotham?" Raquel suggested, eyeing a crumbling wall suspiciously, "I mean, this place doesn't exactly look recently lived in."

Kaldur nodded in agreement. "But this could easily be where Batgirl is hiding, so it is worth looking around."

"Uggghhh, but it's sooo booorringgg," she groaned, "I want some action!"

"Yes, because it went over so well the last time we found 'some action'," Kaldur responded with dry sarcasm. He pushed an old dumpster out of their way and started to turn onto another street.

"Don't sass me, boy," Raquel warned him with a sharp look, "You don't wanna bring _that_ up again. Besides, what are the chances that we'll actually run into Poison Ivy again tonight?"

The words had hardly left her mouth when suddenly Kaldur dove back around the corner, grabbing Raquel and pulling her away from the bend with such force that she fell back into him. She opened her mouth to protest, but Kaldur was already pulling her by the hand as he threw open the lid of the dumpster beside them and ushered her into it.

Raquel shot the container a disgusted look. "I am _not_ going in th—"

"_Not now._" Kaldur hissed in warning, hurrying her into the shelter and quickly jumping in behind her.

The dumpster was on the small side, so with the layer of trash bags piled around them, there was hardly any space to move. Raquel's back was already pressed up against one side, and there was still less than a foot of space between her and Kaldur. As the lid slipped shut, the two heroes were plunged into darkness, but she could still feel the heat of Kaldur's breath brush past her chilled skin.

"Kaldur," Raquel finally said, confused by his sudden 'duck and cover' tactic, "Who are we hiding fr—_mmmmpphh_."

Her words were cut off by the Atlantian's hand forcibly closing her mouth. That was when Raquel began to worry; the gentle Kaldur doesn't forcibly do anything unless there's eminent danger. She shut herself up, but obviously he knew her better than to remove his hand just yet. But Raquel didn't need an answer to her unfinished question when her ears picked up on the sound of voices, and they seemed to be coming closer by the second.

"Selina, why did you call me out here? I was taking care of my side of things just fine," they heard a woman say as they voices came into earshot, "Don't tell me you messed up _already_?"

Anger began to build in Raquel's chest at the sound of the dangerous voice. _Poison Ivy. Figures._

"Don't be ridiculous," came a second voice, "This gig is so easy, it's boring."

"Then why, may I ask, are you covered in white foam?"

They heard 'Selina' groan. "One of them is Sportsmaster's daughter," she grumbled, "I think it's become their family tradition to get on my very last nerve."

Raquel felt Kaldur's hand tense. They were obviously talking about Artemis, and potentially the rest of the Team.

"So, what? You messed up and lost them?"

"Of course not! Harles has the girls cornered about eight blocks from here, and I've got my babies surrounding the area just to make them feel uncomfortable whenever they consider making a run for it."

"Why would you bring them so close?" The two hidden heroes could practically hear the frown in Ivy's voice. "And I repeat, why am I here?"

"Don't go getting your green panties in a twist now, Ivy," the other voice quite literally hissed back, "I'm just following orders. Besides, all of these kids are newbies to their line of work, and the three of us have been dealing with their kind from the very beginning. How could they possibly outsmart us, especially since they can't even use their abilities?"

Raquel's jaw dropped, making Kaldur instinctively tighten his grip on her mouth to keep her from yelling out in shock or anger. And it's a good thing too, 'cause she probably would've. _How did she find out?_ she thought, still shocked, _Does this have something to do with Kaldur's powers working for that small amount of time?_ She heard the villains' footsteps slow to a stop just past their hiding place, and her body tensed up when she realized that they might have noticed them.

"You said that you had the _girls_ cornered," they heard Ivy ask, "What about Big Blue Jr.?"

"Well, I was going to take care of him myself, but it seems we have an unexpected guest in Gotham tonight," Selina chuckled, starting to walk away again, "And instead of the normal colorful costume, she's sporting a strange combination of my leather suit and Canary's love of fishnets."

"Who is it?" Ivy asked, sounding less bored than usual, perhaps even curious.

The other woman must have mimed some obvious hint, because Ivy gave a small snort of amusement.

"Has she hit her rebellious phase or something?" she scoffed, and probably rolled her eyes as well.

"Well, she's never exactly followed her boss's orders _before_, so maybe this is just phase two of her rebellious phase?"

Their voices moved out of earshot, and after a few minutes of silence, Kaldur threw open the lid and climbed out. "That did not sound good," he stated the obvious with a grimace, offering Raquel his hand to help her out of the dumpster.

Accepting the webbed hand, she nimbly leapt out of the container. "How did they know!" she asked him, brushing the filth from her body, "How did they know about the inhibitor bands?"

Kaldur stared down the alleyway the women had just walked down, his brow furrowed in thought. "That is not the only interesting thing they said."

"You're right," Raquel agreed, though she wasn't _exactly_ sure what he was thinking, "It sounded as if someone had sent them after us, whoever those other three are. Did you happen to see who the 'Selina' person was?"

"No, but I have a good guess," he said absentmindedly, still focused on something else, "We should go. They said that the others are nearby, and we cannot leave them in such a dangerous situation."

Raquel nodded, wondering what part of the women's conversation had her leader so deep in thought. "Lead the way."

* * *

**1:09 AM**

"Hey, quit running and let me kill you already!"

"Oh yeah, sure, _that_ sounds like fun!" Superboy yelled back at his pursuer sarcastically. He was really getting sick of this now; the mouth on this girl could even give Wally a run for his money.

Leaping to the next rooftop, he scanned the area for a place to hide, but of course there was no such place. So he kept running, trying his best to ignore the threatening groan that resounded from the cracking concrete with each and every step. He was quickly losing whatever human strength he had to begin with after running from this maniac for over an hour. Every once in a while, he would lose her and have a moment to catch his breath, but it wasn't long before she found him once again and blew up whatever shelter he was hiding under.

His unusual lack of endurance was so distracting that he almost jumped right off the half collapsed roof and into the torn-up street below. He could've changed course and found a way to climb down the ruined part of the building, but his reactions were slowed from exhaustion. Turning back around, he saw the laser girl land gracefully on the rooftop and crank her goggles up to what sounded like high gear.

"End of the road!" she laughed maniacally, and blasted him square in the chest, sending him flying all the way across six streets before crashing somewhere beyond her field of vision. Or at least, beyond _most_ people's field of vision.

* * *

**A/N:** That's all for now folks! Sorry it's a bit on the short side, but college just started, and I have been writing a lot for the future chapters, so hopefully those will come out faster :)

Also, hope you kept an eye out for the hints on laser girl's identity! I've also dropped some hints in previous chapters, so if you really feel like detectiving, go back through the fanfic :D Remember, I promise a one-shot to anyone who guesses right! And if you guess but change your mind later, I'll take your most recent guess :) Good luck!

And as always, don't forget to fave, follow, and review! Especially review :)


	12. The Cornered Rats

**A/N:** Hey guys! So, thanks for being patient and waiting for me to upload this :) I can't really say that the next chapter will come out quickly, but I will definitely try not to make you wait too long! And thank you to everyone who made a guess at the laser girl's identity :D Just a heads up that you probably don't have much longer to guess, so get them in while you can! But for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

* * *

**1:04 AM**

"Artemis," M'gann panted, collapsed on the ground next to the archer, "Wha-what now?" They had run themselves into a dead-end and were taking cover between an old dumpster and the decrepit brick wall.

"Well, I had considered climbing our way up the wall, but I'm worried it would break under our weight."

"Where did Harley Quinn go?" Zatanna whispered, looking around the edge of the dumpster, "Do you think we might have actually lost her?"

"No way," Artemis replied quickly, "She's over there somewhere. Toying with people is kind of her M.O."

"So we really _did_ just walk ourselves into a trap," M'gann sighed. She studied the rooftops surrounding them and pointed to the one to their right. "I'm pretty sure I just saw a cat tail up there, too."

"So, Harley's got us cornered and Catwoman's got us surrounded," Artemis summarized airily, "Could this night get any better?"

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it, Artie," said a voice as two figures joined them behind the barricade.

"Rocket! Aqualad!" M'gann hugged the other girl tightly before turning to do the same to their leader, "How did you get over here?"

"I believe the villains allowed us to, since we are merely trapping ourselves as well," Kaldur explained as the Martian released him from her grip, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sure, we're just being hunted down by the queen of all nutjobs and her pet cat," Artemis said, sarcastically calm, "Just another day in the life of us normal folk."

"Artemis kicked a can at a cat, and the next thing we know, Catwoman is trying to scratch our eyes out."

"I said I was sorry!"

"And I ran into them while I was running away from Harley Quinn," M'gann interjected before an argument had a chance to form.

"Which I _still_ don't understand," Artemis added.

"What's to understand, blondie?" Rocket said bluntly, peering around the side of the dumpster, "She's a known psychopath; she doesn't _need_ a reason to do this kinda stuff."

"No, you don't get it. I _know_ Aunt Harley, and this just doesn't make sense."

"Artie, your family friends are all infamous supervillains, assassins or superspies. They aren't exactly innocent bystanders."

"Why does it not make sense, Artemis?" Kaldur insisted, ignoring the exhausted girls' snippy responses.

"_Because, _Aunt Harley's been out of the game for a while now."

M'gann looked totally lost, the lack of sleep starting to affect her cognitive skills. "Game? What game? This game?"

"No, I mean, she dumped the Joker and split. No one knows _exactly_ where she went or what she's been doing, but she's been out of the whole crime business for a good year at least."

"So, the question is, what could have possibly happened to make her return so suddenly," Kaldur finished for her, to which the blonde nodded. Interlocking his fingers and pressing them lightly to his lips, a look of concentration etched into his features as he tried to put the pieces together. "Artemis," he spoke, still deep in thought, "You are familiar with Harley Quinn, correct? Where do _you_ think she was during her little 'break'?"

"Well," Artemis furrowed her eyebrows, "As you can probably guess, villains don't really make friends with anyone, especially with other villains. They make alliances, but they can never trust each other enough to form friendships. But Aunt Harley has always been a really likable person; her flaw is that love makes her crazy, _literally_. So a handful of villains _and_ heroes have a real soft spot for her."

"Get to the point, Artemis," Rocket growled through clenched teeth, "I don't see why this is important, anyway."

The archer shot her friend a glare, but continued with her explanation. "_Anyway_, I was saying that personally, I think the Batclan has had a big part in keeping her whereabouts hidden. But knowing her, I would bet anything that she's been bunking with either Catwoman or—"

"Poison Ivy?" Kaldur finished.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

Kaldur let out a long sigh and dropped his head into his hands so suddenly, it made the skittish girls jump. Panic washed over Raquel's face, and the before the others even had time to be surprised by her expression, Raquel was already hovering over him like a concerned mother bird. Kaldur had said that he felt fine after their little run in with Ivy, but she knew he would've said such a thing even if he _was_ hurt.

Her concern didn't go unnoticed by the man in question. "I am alright, Raquel," he told her with a tired sigh, rubbing his hands over his face, "However, I believe I might know what is going on. But first, have any of you seen Superboy?"

The words had hardly left his lips when they saw a flash of red, followed by said Kryptonian clone slamming into the bricks of the dead-end only a few feet above their heads. The Team dove to catch him as he slid down the wall and hit the concrete floor.

"Found him," Artemis commented, helping the clone sit up.

"Where on earth have you all been?" he groaned as he clutched his aching ribs, "I really hope I didn't break anything. That would just be humiliating."

"What happened to you, Conner?" M'gann asked as she fussed over some scratches on his cheek.

"I saved some rich Gotham Academy girl from this blonde with laser-goggles. But it pissed her off, and now she's out for my blood."

"A blonde with lasers?" Kaldur repeated.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Conner grumbled, not really in the mood to be questioned, "What about you guys?"

"We're being hunted down too," Zatanna shortened their story down to a single sentence, "Catwoman and Harley Quinn."

"_And_ Poison Ivy," Raquel added icily.

"You ran into _Ivy_?" Artemis asked wide-eyed.

Another painful groan resounded from Superboy as he shifted his body. "Look, I would normally be the last to suggest backing out of a challenge, but if we've got four major bad guys on their way to kill us and we're in _this_ bad of shape, don't you think it's about time we call it quits before those women force us to call it quits _permanently_?"

There was silence amongst the group. They knew he was right, but that competitive streak that thrived in all of them kept their mouths shut.

"Well, our fearless leader, what do you think we should do?" Raquel finally asked, knowing that Kaldur would choose the best plan of action.

But Kaldur still seemed puzzled over Superboy's story. "Artemis, have you ever heard of a villainess fitting the description Superboy gave?"

"Well, no," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, "Especially not in Gotham. But new villains are popping up all the time, and I've been out of that loop for a few years at least."

"Still…" Kaldur said unconvinced, rubbing his chin in thought, "Who _is_ she?"

"She never told me her name," Conner said dismissively.

Kaldur opened his mouth to answer, but his voice was drowned out by a deafening roar as their dumpster barrier exploded into pieces, sending the Team flying backwards into the wall.

Conner groaned and pushed himself back onto his knees. "But it looks like you'll be able to ask her yourself."

"Hey, kiddo," the blonde villain said with a vicious grin as she stepped over the destroyed pieces of dumpster, "Miss me?"

"Actually, no, I didn't. I was _hoping_ you'd lost track of how far away you'd blasted me and not bother searching."

"Tsk tsk, you don't learn very fast, do you?" she tutted at the scratched up boy, "The first thing you need to know about me is that I _really_ know how to hold a grudge."

The rest of the Team pushed themselves to their feet slowly, the last of which was Kaldur. Rubbing his head, he looked up and his eyes grew wide for a moment. "What the-"

"So," the leather-clad girl called out loudly, spreading her arms out wide, "Which of you dead-weight newbies wants to take the first shot?"

Tenseness shot through every aching body, and for a moment, each young hero considered pulling the plug on their deal and giving up. But the fact still remained that they were in immediate danger, and they had to do _something_, or they were all going to die. The entire Team raised their guard and prepared for the fight. "Aqualad," Superboy finally called out, his eyes never leaving their mysterious opponent, "What are your orders?"

But to the others' shock, Kaldur's guard totally dropped, and the exhausted look on his face had reached an incredible 'I've-had-enough-of-this-bullshit' level. "You _cannot_ be serious," he groaned, rubbing his temples, "It is times like these that I remember why I do not make deals with the Bats."

"Aqualad!" Raquel snapped, "What are you talking about!"

He was glaring at their opponent, but not in any serious manner. "I am saying that this 'villainess' is actually just another he_mmmmmmppppphhhhh._" Before he could finish his revelation, a thick vine roped his mouth shut and pulled him straight off his feet.

"_KALDUR!"_ Raquel yelled and ran after him, but it was too late; he had already been dragged off into the shadows.

"Awww. Don't worry, kiddo." Harley suddenly appeared in front of them, twirling her giant mallet in her hands. "The two of us'll keep you company while Red has her fun with the fishie!"

The blonde girl smiled cruelly and cranked the dial on her goggles. "We most definitely will."

* * *

**A/N: **That's all for now, folks :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter, although I know it was a bit short. Don't forget to leave a review! Reviews motivate me to get these out faster :)


	13. The Unexpected Foe

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm really sorry this took so long, but you know, school :P I've got midterms this week, so it may be a couple weeks til the next chapter too, but at least that gives you more time to guess who the laser girl is ;) You don't have much time left, so good luck! And thank you everyone who reviewed and/or guessed laser girl's identity! If I haven't responded to your review yet, I promise I will get around to that soon :D Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**1:21 AM**

"So, kiddies," the laser girl smiled venomously, "Who wants to die first?"

"We need to get out of here," M'gann told the others urgently, "_Now."_

"This way!" Rocket yelled, racing towards the wall Kaldur had just disappeared into.

"Rocket, wait! It's too late to save Aqualad!" Zatanna called out to her friend only to realize that Artemis was actually following her, "Artemis?"

"Where are you two going? That's a solid brick wall!" Superboy yelled over his shoulder as he eyed the unstable structure they were running at, "Well, maybe not _solid_, but close enough!"

"Nevermind, just hurry up and follow!" the archer barked back before following Raquel straight into the wall of bricks.

"Well, it's not like we have a lot of other options," M'gann decided, and grabbing her boyfriend's hand, she followed Zatanna over to the wall.

"There's a trap door," Zatanna noted in surprise as she quickly walked into the shadows and emerged on the other side of the building, closely followed by Miss Martian and Superboy. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned around to study their escape route. "I'm a magician, and even _I_ don't get how that worked."

"Nevermind, we don't have time for that!" Superboy told her as he pushed her lightly forward and started to run, "It won't be long 'til they follow us through that thing! Let's move!" The others didn't need to be told twice, and they quickly followed the clone's lead.

"I _told_ Kaldur that there were secret passages in these walls!" Raquel noted bitterly, and her face fell, "We have to find him."

"Right now, we just need to get away!" Superboy reiterated his earlier statement. As much as he wanted to find Aqualad, they didn't have the time to worry about it.

"And whatever we do, we _can't_ get separated again!" Artemis demanded, her breath short as they ran through the empty streets, "There's no way we'll survive if that hap—_AAAHHHHH_!"

The Team skidded to a halt and swung around to see the archer being dragged up the side of the building by a giant thick vine.

"Not a second time!" Conner yelled and quickly grabbed a hold of the weed before it could slither away. But he overestimated his strength again, and he was dragged up the concrete wall along with the archer. "Go on!" he yelled back at the team before they disappeared from view, "We'll be fine!"

"I—OW!—_really_ hope you've actually—OUCH!—got a plan!" Artemis yelled to her fellow victim as the vine bashed them into everything in its path as it slithered across the rooftops.

"Not really," he yelled back, adjusting himself carefully so as not to fall off, "Can you see—OW! Ugh, I _hate_ being human! Can you see where this thing is sprouting from?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to see when I'm being slammed into every freaking trash heap up here, but I don't think it's anywhere close by."

"Then we're just going to have to get off this ride a little early!" With one arm still wrapped tightly around the vine, he shoved his hand into his pocket and tried to find the small item he was looking for.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Artemis screamed, turning her body around in the vine's grasp as much as possible and grabbing hold of Superboy, "Are you stupid! You're going to fall if you—wait, is that a lighter?" She watched as he attempted to light the device, although he was obviously having some difficulty with the speed the vine was moving at. "Why the hell do you have a lighter!"

"Canary's survival training, remember?" he grunted as the flame finally flickered to life, "Fire is a source of light _and_ warmth, so it's the first thing we're supposed to pack. And I figured Robin wouldn't consider it a weapon." Moving quickly before the wind extinguished it, he pressed the flame against the plant wrapped around Artemis, and gave a silent prayer that this would actually work. Luckily, it did, and the flame started to lap at the oversized vegetable and quickly burned halfway through the bulky weed. That was about as long as Superboy could stand to wait, and the two heroes quickly ripped through the rest of the vine, which in turn reeled back in apparent pain and tossed the teens onto the rooftop below before slithering away.

"Owwww," Artemis groaned as she pushed herself up off the concrete, "Not our best landing, but I gotta say I'm impressed, Conner. You really took Dinah's advice to heart."

"Glad I did," he grunted in agreement, accepting her helping hand and standing back up as well, "I'm not sure how much more abuse either of us could have taken."

"Think we can still catch up with the others?" she asked as she turned back to face the way they'd come, "It doesn't look like we went _too _far…"

Before Conner could reply, their attention was grabbed by a sudden bellow erupting from the other direction. The buildings began to rumble in pattern beneath their feet. "Oh great," Conner grumbled through gritted teeth.

"What now?" Artemis yelled out in exasperation, tossing her arms in the air as if she was addressing God.

The shaking continued in time, and another roar rang out over the horizon, only this one was even louder.

"Does that rumbling… sound a bit like footsteps to you?" the archer asked warily, already taking a few steps back.

"Yeah," he replied darkly, "And from the sound of it, I think it's safe to guess that it's getting closer." Another thunderous cry pierced the air, and at this point, the two heroes could make out a chunky silhouette of something as it bounded across the buildings, headed straight for them. "We should run," Conner decided quickly, but just as they turned to make a run for it, a monstrous shadow passed over them and the creature landed in front of them with a pounding crash. The concrete shattered beneath its feet, and for a terrifying moment, they thought the building was going to collapse under the grey-skinned giant's weight. Beady eyes darted from Superboy to Artemis, and suddenly the monster's face became construed with rage. He let out another roar, but this time, the heroes could make words out of his cries.

"_BLONDIE! _GRUNDY FINALLY FOUND BLONDIE! NOW, BLONDIE, TIME TO_ DIEEEEEEEE!"_

Artemis's face went pale. "Oh, this is _so_ not good."

* * *

**About a mile away from Superboy and Artemis…**

"What's wrong, girlies? Don'tcha wanna play fo' a bit?" Harley Quinn slammed her mallet down, once again unsuccessful in squashing one of the young heroes beneath its weight.

"They're not much fun, are they Harles?" the blonde noted in a bored tone as she tauntingly fired another beam just behind M'gann's foot, "I wish Ivy hadn't dragged off that boy. All I came this way for was to finish him off."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Miss Martian yelled back at her pursuer, her anger getting the better of her.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged with an icy smirk, "What are you gonna do about it, greenie?"

"_BLONDIEEEEEE!"_

The sudden roar from off in the distance startled both heroines and villainesses, and all five sets of eyes turned towards the direction of the cry.

Harley's eyes widened. "Hey, what's the zombie doin' in G-Town?"

"Oh boy," the heroes heard the laser girl mutter, "_That's_ not good."

* * *

**Elsewhere in Gotham…**

"Soda?"

Robin looked back from his seat on the ledge to see Batgirl holding two cans, one of which held out towards him. "Don't mind if I do," he replied with a smile, accepting the offered soda.

Barbara retook her place next to him and pushed back the metal tab on her soda can to open it. Robin did the same, and eagerly took a long swig on the drink.

"Hey, Dick… maybe you should just tell them."

The unexpected statement made Robin do a complete spit-take, spraying his soda out into the night sky. "W—what?" he spluttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and averting his eyes away from her knowing gaze, "You know I can't do that. Batman told me—"

"Oh, and you _always_ do what Batman tells you to? You might be able to convince everyone else that even _you_ are too afraid to disobey Big B, but I know better. I know _you_ better. So I know you're just using that as an excuse." She leaned forward, forcing her old friend to look her in the eye. "Will you at least tell me why you don't want them to know anything about you so badly? I mean, you told Wally, and after meeting Dick Grayson so many times over your years as wards, I'm pretty sure Roy's figured it out too. And if Roy knows, even Kaldur probably has some idea. So, why bother with all this secrecy, Dickie?"

The Boy Wonder opened his mouth to argue his point, but he couldn't think of anything to get him out of this and instead just sighed. "I… I don't know, Barbara," he admitted, shoulders slumped forward under the weight of her accusation. He knew she was right; Batgirl was always right.

"Is it just that you don't trust them enough yet?"

"No!" he countered a little too quickly as his head whipped back around to face her, "I mean, I really do trust them, I just…" Another sigh escaped his lips as he slouched forward once more, kicking his feet back and forth idly. "I don't want Zatanna to misunderstand the relationship between you and me," he mumbled, looking away, "She's already going through a hard time right now and—"

"And that only explains why you don't want _Zatanna_ to meet _me_, not why you don't want _them_ to get to know _you_."

Robin groaned in defeat. She'd caught his bluff again, and he was quickly running out of them. "I guess…" he started again, searching for the right words to explain a feeling he didn't even completely understand. He looked up at his partner, his sapphire eyes locking with hers. "I guess I just like it the way it is."

"What do you mean?" she inquired, clearly puzzled.

"I guess… I mean that I don't like telling people who I am 'cause it just kinda spoils the mystery."

Barbara gave him a look through narrowed eyes. "Seriously, Dick? All _this_ for such an immature reason? Wow, that's a level of childishness that even _Wally_ has never reached."

"Let me finish explaining before you start judging, hothead," he scolded her with a playful slap on her arm, "What I _meant_ was that I don't really trust myself in choosing who to let in on my little secret."

"Um. What?"

Robin groaned and scratched his head. "I mean, you do this too, it's just that we do it subconsciously. I think it's a Batclan thing, now that I think about it…"

"Richard, what are you talking about?"

"I'm _getting there_. Geez, patience is a virtue, Batsy," he teased her before continuing, "It's like… we can choose to tell people who we _think_ know us best, but in that case, why not just wait 'til the ones who _actually_ know us best show themselves?"

Barbara studied his words carefully, her intense gaze never straying from his own, until the pieces clicked together and he saw the realization light up in her eyes. "…oh."

A small smirk worked its way onto his features. Leaving Batgirl at a loss for words was no small feat. "Yeah," he nodded with a laugh, "I see you get it now. The people who truly know us for who we are, both as superheroes _and_ as civilians, always seem to figure our secrets out themselves. Why do you think everyone on that list of people who may know who I am already is only made up of our oldest allies? It's 'cause they've had more time to put the pieces together and to _really_ get to know all the different sides of me."

"It didn't take _me_ very long to put the pieces together," she reminded him with a soft smile.

"Heheh, of course not. If you didn't have a natural sense of curiosity and detectiving, Batman would never have taken you on as his protégé. Plus," he placed his hand over hers and gave it an affectionate squeeze, "That's why you're my best friend: you know me better than anyone else."

"And don't you ever forget it," she responded with a warm smile, squeezing his hand just as tenderly, "No matter what happens or who you're dating, you'll always be _my_ bird."

Their rare moment of peace was broken by a sudden blast of wind. "Sorry to break up this happy little care-fest," Wally cut in as he halted to a stop and pointed a finger at the holoscreen, "But we've got a problem. A _really_ big problem."

The Bat-kids followed Wally's finger to the window on the screen he was talking about, and Robin's jaw dropped. "Is that _Solomon Grundy_?" he asked his partner disbelievingly, "He doesn't normally hang around in Gotham. How did you manage to get _him_ to take part in this little game?"

"Umm, I didn't," Batgirl admitted, still staring at the screen in shock, "You are definitely right, Wally. This _is_ a big problem."

* * *

**A/N:** That's all for now :) Like I said before, I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to update the next chapter, but I've already started working on it, so hopefully not too long! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! Reviews make me happy :D


	14. The Family Reunion

**A/N:** Hey guys! Sorry to make you wait, as always. But I finally found some time to write (a.k.a., I have two papers and a midterm this week and I'm totally procrastinating XD). Thank you for all your amazing reviews and guesses! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and be sure to read the end A/N! :D

* * *

**1:47 AM**

"Hold on, big guy, I think you've got the wrong girl," Artemis held up her arms defensively, slowly taking a few steps back.

"No!" Grundy retaliated defiantly, pointing his large finger at Conner, "Thing on chest is 'S'. 'S' mean he Superman," he then pointed at Artemis instead, "And that mean you BLONDIE!"

"What?" Artemis yelled out, jumping out of the way as the monster swung a heavy fist her way, "That doesn't even make sense!"

"He's a zombie," Superboy reminded her, "Judging by all those old black and white movies your boyfriend made me watch, I'd say they usually _don't_ make sense." Turning his attention to said creature, he then called out, "Hey, I don't know who this 'Blondie' you're looking for is, but _I'm_ no Superman." The moment the words left his mouth, he felt like he'd punched himself in his own gut; he'd merely parroted what the laser girl had kept telling him earlier. _Guess she got to me a little more than I realized,_ he admitted to himself.

He wasn't allowed much time to dwell on his own words when Grundy started swinging punches at him. "SUPERMAN THINK GRUNDY THAT STUPID?" the zombie bellowed into his face, "'S' MEAN SUPER! 'S' ON MAN MAKE YOU SUPERMAN! THAT MAKE _HER_ BLONDIE!" The concrete below their feet continued to shatter beneath the raging monster's pummeling fists, and the two heroes barely made it onto the next building before the rooftop entirely caved in. Unfortunately, their foe had made it across safely as well. His hate-filled eyes turned towards Artemis and he let out another roar. "BLONDIE TRY TO BURY GRUNDY UNDER ROCKS AGAIN! _RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH_!"

"What the hell!" Artemis cried out, tossing her arms into the air, "I didn't do _anything_!"

"I don't think he's listening," Superboy noted, yanking her out of the way just in time as a large grey fist slammed down where she had just been standing. With a meaningful shove, he pushed her towards another building and stepped between her and the villain. "Go find the others!" he yelled to her over his shoulder, eyes trained on the zombie's powerful fists, "I'll hold him off!"

"Are you crazy!"

"_Go_, Artemis!"

The archer hesitated for a moment, but then turned around and raced across the rooftops. "I'll be back as soon as I find the others to help!" she yelled back at him.

The monster's head swung around, beady eyes following Artemis. "NO! GRUNDY MUST CRUSH BLONDIE!" He paused mid-roar as a planter crashed overtop his head. Swinging back around, he eyed his assailant and let out another roar. "NOW SUPERMAN TRY BURY GRUNDY, TOO!" All it took was a single swat of that giant hand to send Superboy flying across the rooftops, but it seemed that the clone's distraction had worked; Grundy was now entirely focused on pummeling Superboy into the ground first before going after his original target.

Scrambling to his feet as fast as possible, the Kryptonian narrowly escaped the monster's raging fist but forgot to look out for the second one. All the air left his lungs, and after skidding backwards across the concrete once more, Conner considered himself lucky that his lungs hadn't left his body as well. He groaned in pain as he pushed himself back up. Because of his powers, he wasn't used to taking this much damage in just one night, let alone from one villain. His human-strength muscles were practically screaming in agony, and he wasn't even sure how to tell if he'd broken anything. He _really_ hoped that wasn't the case.

But before he could even get his bearings, the hefty shadow of Solomon Grundy was already looming over him again. A giant grey hand gripped him by his hair and yanked him into the air until he was eye-level with his attacker.

"Grundy _done _playing," the villain growled through large grinding teeth, his voice icy and ominous, "Say bye-bye, Superman."

Conner's body tensed, and he prepared for another hard body blow. He just hoped he'd make it through this one.

* * *

**2:02 AM**

Raquel glared at the two villainesses in front of her. "What was that?" she demanded, her voice shaking slightly with anger, "Another one of yours come to attack us as well?"

"Did you say… _zombie?_" Zatanna questioned a bit disbelievingly.

Harley looked at the two girls, then back at her own ally, who was still staring off in the direction of the roar.

"Hey!" M'gann yelled, concern for her boyfriend building up inside her, "Answer our quest—"

"_Shhh_," the laser girl hushed the girls urgently, holding up a hand towards them in silent warning to stop talking. Her eyes never left that same spot, but a frown was quickly etching its way onto her features.

But _no one_ shushes Rocket; she had made that quite clear earlier. "No, I will most definitely _not_ 'shhh'!" she yelled defiantly, "What made that roar?"

Suddenly, a figure leapt from a nearby rooftop and landed next to the group of girls with a stumble.

The young heroines spun around and gasped in surprise and relief. "Artemis!"

"SOLOMONGRUNDYISHERE!" she quickly spat out in one gasp, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

Zatanna seemed to go pale. "What?"

"A-and Conner is h-holding him off alone!"

"_WHAT!_" M'gann practically screamed, "We have to do something!"

"Alright, you two, we don't have time to mess around with you anymore, so…" Raquel started to say as she spun around to face their opponents, but she quickly noticed that the laser girl had mysteriously vanished. "Wha—where'd she go? We only turned away for two seconds…"

Harley giggled and climbed up a nearby ladder until she was at the top looking down over them. "Doncha worry about a thing, kiddos," she called down as she waved goodbye, "Your puddin'll be safe n' sound by the time you get there." And with that, she took off in the opposite direction of Grundy's roaring.

"Wait!" Artemis yelled back in vain, "Aunt Harley, what do you mean?"

"Never mind that!" M'gann called out, already climbing up a ladder on the opposite side of the alley, "Conner's all alone over there! If we don't hurry, he could get really hurt and—"

"We don't need to worry about that," came a voice from behind them.

The girls all jumped at the sound of the familiar voice, but Raquel was the first to respond. "Kaldur!" she exclaimed as she ran towards their suddenly-appeared leader, but then she froze mid-step when she noticed the water bearer in his hand, its usual blow glow protruding from one end. She eyed him up and down suspiciously, afraid of being right. Aqualad's eyes didn't look glazed over at least, but that didn't mean that Ivy hadn't sunk her jaws into him again. "…Kaldur'ahm?" she asked carefully, "Are you…" A small smile played on his lips, and Raquel felt relief flow through her like a tidal wave when she saw his usual warmth in his face. This definitely wasn't the same Kaldur that had attacked her earlier that night. "You're alright," she said definitively, more to herself than to anyone else.

Aqualad took a step forward and set his free hand gently on her shoulder. "I am alright." Then he looked up at the others. "Superboy will be alright, but we should hurry and meet up with the others, just to be on the safe side."

"What? Wait, how are you using your powers?" Artemis asked, "And what do you mean by 'others'?"

Kaldur's gaze remained steadfast as he spoke the one phrase none of them expected to hear. "We are giving up. The Bats win."

* * *

**2:02 AM**

"SUPERMAN! STOP. RUNNING!"

"I'M. NOT. _SUPERMAN!_"

"_GRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH_!"

Superboy threw his arms up just in time as another heavy punch connected with his body. Flying into the air, he came down on the concrete hard, paralyzing him momentarily from the shock. He desperately gasped for air, his chest heaving with every breath. He wasn't sure what a broken bone felt like, but he was pretty sure he had about 16 by now. He tried to push himself up off the ground one more time, but his aching body was screaming from just that simple strain. He collapsed back down, panting harder than ever before. _Come on, _he urged himself_, I have to get up before—_

"LAST CHANCE!" Grundy roared, chambering up another deadly blow as he approached the wounded boy, "WHERE BLONDIE?"

At this point, Superboy didn't even have the strength to come up with some quick remark, so he just resorted to his usual man-of-few-words persona. "No."

Anger flooded the giant's features. "THEN DIEEEE!" he bellowed, preparing to throw his final attack.

Conner braced himself for impact, not sure if he would be able to survive one more hit. But just before the punch made contact with Superboy's face, a dark figure abruptly jumped in front of the clone and effortlessly halted Grundy's fist with a single hand.

"Hey! Big, grey, 'n ugly!" he heard the girl yell at his opponent, "You're lookin' for me, right?"

Superboy hoisted himself up onto his elbows to get a better look at his savior, and found himself totally lost when he recognized the leather and fancy goggles. "Laser girl?" he huffed out disbelievingly, "How… how did you stop that blow?"

The dumb creature grunted in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing as his small brain attempted to reason out why the boy hadn't been crushed to death. His eyes traveled from his target sprawled out on the concrete to the obstacle standing in his way. "Grundy looking for _you_?" he questioned angrily, "Who you? Grundy don't know a Laser Girl!"

The laser girl smirked a little and gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that puny brain of yours can't put two and two together," she told him with mock empathy, "Here, maybe this'll help explain things for you." With her free hand, she easily ripped off her goggles and tossed them aside, revealing piercing blue eyes burning with anger. "That better?"

Grundy's eyes widened as he finally pieced things together, but quickly changed to an expression of pure rage once more. "_BLONDIEEEEE_!" he roared at the top of his lungs and prepared to swing his free arm at her.

"Oh, _good_. So it _is_ me you're after," she said with a fake smile. The monster roared again and threw all his weight into his punch, but before he could even close that small gap between them, the girl drew back her own free fist and nailed him square in the jaw. Grundy soared through the air with a pained roar and only came to a stop after he'd crashed straight through four abandoned buildings.

Conner just stared at the scene, totally bewildered at what had just happened.

The blonde girl glared down at the wreckage that had collapsed on top of the grey villain and yelled out so that he could hear her clearly, "Then keep your filthy rotting hands _off_ my baby cousin!"

* * *

**A/N:** And that's all for now, everyone :) Also, I am not excepting anymore guesses as to laser girl's identity. I mean, you can still guess if you _want_, but at this point, I'm sure a lot of you will have a pretty good idea who it is, so your guess won't be 'valid' so to speak. But just in case some of you aren't sure who it is, I'll hold off on announcing the winners of the guessing game til next chapter :3

Well, as always, thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought!


	15. The Endgame

**A/N: **Hey guys! It's been awhile. And I am really really really really sorry! Thank you all for being so patient and supportive despite my slowness this time! It really means a lot to me :)

First, to answer some questions:

1.) To my Russian reader who asked me a question in a review last chapter, your email address did not show up in your review, so I'll have to answer your question here :) The contest for picking a pairing was for the one shot _Handholding _that I wrote as a thank you to you all. So that has no correlation to the pairings in this fanfic. Hope that makes sense :)

2.) A couple people have asked me if this fic is ending soon, and I am here to tell you that you are correct. **Next chapter will be the final chapter** :( However, I plan on putting the one-shots I write for the winners of the guessing game at the end of this fic, so the magic is not over just yet! :D

Speaking of which, I am happy to (finally) announce that the winners are:

**theGirlNightwing  
DomDom  
Athena  
SaraL97**

Congrats guys! If you're still reading this, please message me or leave a review telling me what kind of one-shot you'd like me to write :) It can be as detailed as you want, or you can simply tell me your favorite character or pairing and leave the rest to me: it's up to you! Sorry you had to wait so long.

Ok, so, sorry for the wait and the extra-long Author's Note, but here you go and hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Wha…what?" Conner just stared blankly at the blonde's back. _Wait,_ he started piecing things together mentally, _Blonde…_ It all clicked into place at once. "_You're_ Blondie? You're the one he's been looking for? But…what? Why? And who _are_ you!"

His savior spun back around with a happy smile and giggled as she walked over to help him back onto his feet. "I'll explain everything later, little cous'," she told him as she swung one of his arms over her shoulders and effortlessly supported his entire weight.

"At least tell me how we're 'cousins'," he grunted persistently, even though making so much as a whisper sent a shot of pain straight through his ribcage, "Are you a Cadmus clone too or something?"

She gave him a smirk, blue eyes flashing tauntingly. Now that Superboy could actually get a good look at them, he realized that they were the same shade of blue as Superman's eyes. The same shade as _his own_ eyes. "The name's Kara," she told him briefly, adjusting his arm around her shoulders and leading him away from the direction Grundy had gone flying. "And I'm Superman's older cousin."

The look of complete annoyance and disbelief that Conner threw her way made the girl smirk. "Um, did you hit your head or something?" he asked her blatantly, "'Cause I'm pretty sure you're not all that much older than _me_."

"It's… kind of a long story," she explained with a slight hesitation, "And right now, we just need to get away from this guy." As if on cue, a ground-shaking roar rang through the night air from behind them.

"Maybe you're right," Superboy agreed quickly, craning his neck to check on the monster's position, "He hasn't made it up here yet, but I have a feeling that it won't take him too much longer."

"It won't," Kara grumbled in agreement, "He tracked me all the way here from Metropolis in less than a day. I don't know how something so dumb could manage that."

"Why is he looking for you anyway—wait, what are you doing?" Superboy stopped his questions when he noticed her leading him over to the edge of the building, nothing but old crumbling road ahead.

"Relax, big guy," Kara scoffed when she felt him try to pull away, "I'm not gonna throw you off the building if that's what you're thinking. Now hold on tight or you really will fall."

"What are you talking abou_WOOOOAAHHHH_!" His interrogation was cut short as Kara leapt from the ledge of the 40-story building, dragging Conner along with her. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?" he bellowed over the roaring wind, and when he looked over he saw her laughing whole-heartedly. As they steadily approached the ground, Conner turned his head away and covered his face with his free arm. But the painful impact he'd been preparing for never came. Slowly cracking open a single eyelid, he found himself soaring through the night air, the old Gotham pavement far below him. Pulling his gaze away from the long drop, he noticed Kara laughing even harder at his reaction. And it still took a good ten seconds to make his mouth form words. "You can _fly_?"

There was an excited sparkle in her eye, but just as she was about to explain, and a call from below interrupted them.

"Conner! Conner, are you ok?"

"M'gann!" he called back in relief, so happy to see his girlfriend safe. Without another word, Kara flew them lower until they had safely landed on the rooftop next to the rest of the Team. The moment his feet were back on solid—although unstable—concrete, M'gann had already pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so glad that you're alright," he told her, gently prying her arms off from around his neck and turning to face the others, "All of you…wait, _Kaldur_? When did _you_ get back?"

"Never mind that," the Atlantian started, placing a webbed hand on the clone's shoulder, "Right now, we need to stay out of the battle zone and try not to get in their way."

"We should be alright here," Kara chimed in with a smile, and to everyone's shock, she pulled Kaldur into a big hug. After the night she'd had, Raquel was ready to flip her lid until Aqualad said something puzzling.

"Kara, it has been some time, old friend," Kaldur remarked, gently returning the friendly gesture before pulling away.

"Are you kidding me? It's been _ages_!" the blonde exclaimed with a cocky grin, "With you guys off playing house all the time now, the only one of you I've actually seen in the past six months is Wally, and _that's_ only when his refrigerator runs out of food."

"Wait, wait, wait," Artemis cut in at that point, her face plastered with a confused frown, "You know Wally too? Who the heck are you?"

"And why did you save Superboy after trying to kill him just a little while ago?" M'gann asked suspiciously.

"Because she's a sidekick like us."

Even Kaldur was a little surprised by Raquel's sudden input, but while the others all turned to face her in confusion, his surprise melted back into a smile. "You figured out what I was trying to say earlier before Ivy captured me," he explained out loud.

"Wait, so you're a superhero too?" Zatanna asked Kara a bit incredulously, "So, why have you been trying to kill us then?"

"Actually, a more appropriate question would be: were you bribed or blackmailed?" Kaldur asked Kara with a chuckle.

"Bribed," she answered with a big grin, "Plus, this sounded like too much fun to miss out on."

"Ok, once again, who are you!" Artemis grumbled in frustration.

"She claims to be Superman's—and my—older cousin," Conner chimed in.

M'gann stared blankly at her boyfriend, then at the mysterious girl. "_What?_"

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable," Artemis told the other blonde with a tired sigh.

"Actually," Kaldur cut in, "As strange as it sounds, it is the truth."

Raquel gave the stranger in question a disbelieving one-over before raising an eyebrow at Kaldur. "Seriously?"

"Look, guys, I'm just as curious about this as the rest of you, but shouldn't we be doing something about _that_?" Zatanna interjected with a nervous glance towards the quickly approaching roaring.

"Nah, they'll have an easier time handling Grundy if there's no one else there to get in the way," Kara explained as she took a seat on the edge of the rooftop.

"You keep saying 'they'," Artemis noted, "What do you mean by '_they'_?"

Suddenly, the thunderous roaring came again, but much, _much_ closer, and with a powerful tremor, the grey bulk of the zombiefied villain came crashing down onto a roof only three buildings over.

"Well, so much for staying out of it!" Artemis yelled over the monster's cry, snatching up a broken bottle and preparing to leap into battle. But just as she started her charge, there was a sudden burst of wind and something snatched her arm, pulling her back onto the roof.

"_Woooaaaahhh_ there, beautiful!" said the grinning red-head as he stepped in front of Artemis and pushed her back away from the villain. "No need to get your little green panties in a twist."

It took Artemis a moment to register who it was. "Wally?"

"You're here!" M'gann squealed happily, pulling the speedster into a big hug as if it had been years since she'd seen him.

"And late as always," Kara scoffed, although she was smiling.

"Shut up, K," Wally told the blonde before sticking out his tongue.

"Am I wrong?" she shrugged with feigned innocence.

"Give it a rest, you two," Kaldur practically pleaded, "At least for tonight. I am exhausted, and I do not have the energy to listen to your usual bickering."

"Alright look, I'm totally lost on what's going on here," Raquel broke in, "But will someone at least tell me WHY WE AREN'T EITHER FIGHTING OR RUNNING?"

"BLONDIIIEEEEEEEE!"

"Uck," Kara fake gagged and rolled her eyes at the creature, "He's like some clingy ex-boyfriend. Seriously. He's been chasing me for days."

"And you failed to mention this to us earlier…_how_ exactly?" Wally chided with a raised eyebrow, taking a seat next to her on the ledge.

"I thought he'd give up if I left town for a day or two," she replied with another shrug, "I mean, I keep beating him down, but it's like Metropolis's police don't know how to hold him or something."

"I suppose in that respect, it is a good thing that he followed you to Gotham then," Kaldur grunted as he planted himself on the edge of the rooftop as well, back slouched with exhaustion.

Raquel gaped down at their strangely relaxed comrades. "Kal, why are you sitting!" she yelled at him in frustration.

BAM_!_

"Umm, guys!" M'gann's voice rang out in a high-pitched panic, "He just jumped a building closer!"

Attention was immediately back on Aqualad.

"Kaldur, Wally! You're the only ones with powers here!" Zatanna yelled at him, "Get up and _do something!"_

"Come _on_, Aqualad!" Superboy growled.

_BAM!_

"Babe, listen to us!" Artemis tried Wally next, "If you don't do something soon…"

_**BAM!**_

A heavy shadow cast down over them, and every hero froze as they counted out the number of buildings they'd just heard Grundy jump, hoping to God that they'd simply heard wrong. But sure enough, as they slowly turned around, the grey giant roared down at them with his fist raised menacingly in the air, and they knew they were absolutely screwed.

_THWACK THWACK_

The beast suddenly froze mid-roar, rage melting into utter confusion. Fumbling around in attempt to reach his back, he finally found what had made that sound, and dislodged them from his back. In his beefy hands he held a piece of bat-shaped metal and a red and yellow object of similar shape and size. Everyone recognized the familiar trademarks instantly, even Grundy, and he clearly did not like it.

"LITTLE BATS THINK FUNNY-LOOKING DARTS HURT GRUNDY?" he roared into the open air as he scanned the skies for the flying rodents, "HA! GRUNDY JUST FINE! GRUNDY NOT HURT!" But just as the words left his mouth, the weapons in his hand started to beep threateningly before exploding into a thick cloud of black smoke. With the exception of Kaldur, Kara, Wally, the young heroes jumped back out of reach of the stunned monster and watched as he too took a couple of stumbling steps backwards, coughing as he tried to swat the smoke away from his face. He disappeared into the dark smog, but it was only a matter of seconds before they heard a loud yelp, and saw two more projectiles fly in from somewhere behind them.

As the smokescreen began to lift, the Team could now see Grundy's legs caught up in trip wire and his torso bound in black and yellow cord. There was a blur of movement, and zombie buckled over as two dark masses slammed into him before disappearing into the night once more. Rage flooded Grundy's face once more and he made to swing at his attackers, but the strong bonds wrapped around his body would not give, and the trip wire at his feet prevented him from leaving that spot. Another blur of movement sent Grundy rocking sideways, quickly followed by an attack from the other side that sent him rocking back the other way. Dizzy and off-balance, all it took was one final blow from the front and Grundy slammed to the ground with a pounding crack, causing the unstable building to completely give way and collapse into a pile of rubble beneath him. But before the zombie could go down with it, the wire wrapped around his feet was apparently attached to the roof of a neighboring tower, and he was left hanging there upside-down, finally knocked unconscious by his last slam into the concrete. It might not last long, but at least he'd stopped roaring for a little while.

It wasn't until then that the Team finally got a look at their saviors. A pair of matching capes seemed to appear from thin air, their concealing black exterior fluttering back as they fell from the sky, revealing a shimmering gold underbelly that seemed to glow in the inky blackness of the Gotham night. For a solitary moment as they gracefully landed on the ledge of the parallel building, the figures enveloped by these two-faced cloths were illuminated, close enough for the on-watching team to make out the brightly colored symbols proudly displayed on their chests. It was all in that one moment that every contestant in their little game fully understood the feelings of the Gothamites. They had been lost, chased, cornered, and powerless against the monsters bred by this brutal city; and the smog-covered skies of Gotham yielded them no ray of hope, no guiding light. But then a powerful entity rose from the shadows, initially just as dark and mysterious as its apparent brethren until those vibrant crests broke through the darkness and sent those same monsters howling away in fear. And it amazed the young heroes that a simple yellow 'R' and the golden icon of a bat could instill such instant, but almost overpowering, relief and awe.

The teens simply stared at the backs of their saviors, awestruck, as the latter surveyed the damage. Kaldur, Wally, and Kara, on the other hand, appeared more nostalgic than anything else, perhaps even simply bored and tired. Forcing herself to breathe again after nearly being crushed by a two-ton zombie, Zatanna opened her mouth and called out, "Robin?"

Both dark figures turned at the sound of her voice, the Boy Wonder snickering as usual, and the scarlet-haired girl with him sporting a smirk far too similar to her partner's.

"Hey guys!" Robin grinned, wide awake as if it were three in the afternoon rather than in the middle of the night, "Guess this means Team BatKids wins as always!"

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and again, sorry it took so long! I definitely won't make you wait this long for the final chapter, although I don't know when I'll be able to put it out. But hey, don't forget to leave me a review :) Thanks for all the support guys! You're the best readers a girl could ever have :D


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